


Shizaya in Wonderland

by QueenOfAwesome (TheFabRosevest)



Series: Wonderland [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alice In Wonderland AU, Cat Ears, Cat/Human Hybrids, Eventual Smut, M/M, Wonderland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2018-12-27 18:04:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12086433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFabRosevest/pseuds/QueenOfAwesome
Summary: It was a day like any other for Shizuo, really.Well except for the white rabbit in the middle of the road and going to a strange place called Wonderland.At least Shizuo wouldn't call shrinking doors, talking giant flowers and smoking caterpillars normal.Not to mention that stupid louse having cat ears and a tail and being able to disappear and float around...Maybe it wasn't a normal day after all...





	1. White Rabbits and Giant Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wouldn't get into writing fanfiction again but here I am...  
> I just noticed there wasn't one about Shizuo and Izaya being in Wonderland and I just love Alice in Wonderland so I decided to just do it.  
> I have no idea where I'm going with this so I'm just going to start posting what I have and think about the consequences later.  
> More tags and a better summary and probably a better title are about to follow.  
> Like I said...I have no idea what I'm doing xD  
> Oh, and of course, the usual warning: English isn't my native language, it's German. So please be nice if I make any dumb mistakes.  
> Now, enjoy :D

It was a day like any other, really.

Well, until _that_ happened.

Shizuo had just finished his work with Tom for the day and was on his way home when he saw it.

It was getting dark already and the roads were mostly empty. There weren‘t that many people around either so when Shizuo spotted a white rabbit wearing a tailored suit, he stopped walking to stare at it.

A woman pushed past him with an annoyed groan. The blond looked after her and then back to the animal sitting in the middle of the pavement.

Slowly, he stepped closer to it, careful, as to not disturb it.

He froze when it turned its head into his direction though.

Shizuo had thought it was maybe a circus animal of some sort that managed to escape its humiliating prison, but when the rabbit pulled a golden watch out of its pocket and pointed at it, the debt collector decided he was finally going crazy.

Shizuo sighed and decided to light a cigarette. After taking the first drag he started moving again, stepping past the imaginary animal.

He walked around like that for a while, dropping his finished cigarette butt somewhere along the way.

"Ah, if it's not Shizu-chan~"

Shizuo stopped walking at that. He sighed and let his neck crack before turning around. Of course, the city's famous informant stood in front of him, wearing that stupid coat of his and smirking up at the blond.

"I am not in the mood for your dumb mind games, flea." Shizuo said and attempted to turn away again while getting out another cigarette, ready to light it.

"I would never try to play mind games with you, Shizu-chan." The raven chuckled. "You would need a certain level of intelligence for that."

The cigarette broke in half, both pieces dropping to the floor.

"You damn louse." Shizuo barked at him as he stepped closer to the other. "Don't you have to fuck with someone else?"

"Nah, I treat myself with some free time every once in a while." Izaya purred and jumped back. One of his hands was hidden in the pocket of his coat, probably ready to pull one of those knives out.

Shizuo looked around briefly before reaching for the nearest road sign.

"And here we go again. Do you always have to make such a mess, Shizu-chan?"

"This is your fault!" The blond growled, raising his new weapon and whirling it into the direction of the raven.

Izaya jumped back and managed to dodge the attack though, as always. He laughed and raised a pocket knife, pointing it at Shizuo with a mischievous smirk. "That was pathetic, even for you."  
And just like that, Shizuo saw red. He roared and dashed towards Izaya, who turned on his heels and started running himself, a manic grin on his face.

Shizuo grabbed a nearby trash can on the way and threw it at the other with ease but the raven dodged it yet again by jumping onto the railing dividing the pavement from the road. Izaya threw his knife and failed to hit the blond's head.

"Are you even trying to hit me?" He purred.

"I want to _kill_ you!"

Izaya laughed at that and tip-toed along the railing with outstretched arms until another street sign crashed into it behind him, making him jump off and landing in the middle of the empty road gracefully.

"Dumb beast." The informant laughed while dancing backwards. "Always destroying everything around him."

Shizuo panted heavily as he stomped closer to the other. To his surprise, Izaya didn't step away and just watched the blond. The debt collector pressed his forehead against the raven's and growled. "Stop running, flea! I will- "

He froze when he saw something white move behind Izaya. Shizuo looked past the other's head and there it was again. The rabbit. It was holding the watch up again, pointing at it desperately.

"What the fuck?" He mumbled and Izaya followed his gaze.

"What is it now, Shizu-chan? Seeing things?" He giggled and pushed his hands into the pockets of that stupid coat.

"Shut up. Do you see that rabbit?"

Izaya blinked at him, looking confused for once. "Rabbit?"

"Yes, there is a white rabbit in the middle of the road."

The raven looked around, apparently not seeing the same as Shizuo. "Did you finally turn into a true monster now, Shizu-chan? Seeing rabbits in the city?" Izaya leaned closer to him once again. "Are you hungry maybe?"

Shizuo glared at him and raised his fist to punch him but the informant was faster, as always, jumping to the side so the blond hit the air, stumbling forwards.

"So predictable." Izaya shook his head. "Well, it was a pleasure, as always, but I should get going."

Shizuo found his balance again and growled at the other but Izaya was already running off again. "Get back here, louse!" He roared.

"Bye, Shizu-chan!" The raven cheered before he disappeared around a corner.

The debt collector thought about following him, but decided against it as he turned to look at the animal once again. It was still there.

Shizuo stepped closer to it and crouched down, apparently scaring it since it jumped away and down the road.

"Hey! Come back!" He called and got up to chase it.

Thankfully, the road was deserted so he didn't have to destroy any cars as he tried to keep up with the rabbit.

It jumped to the left suddenly and into an alley. Shizuo almost lost his footing as he stopped, turning his head into the direction it went. It was a dead end so there was nowhere it could flee.

The blond stepped off the road and into the alley slowly, looking around for the animal but it was nowhere to be seen. What caught his eye though was a sewer cover carelessly thrown into a corner and the hole it used to cover open for the world to see. Shizuo frowned and stood over it, looking down into the darkness.

"I'm definitely seeing things." He sighed and stood straight again. Just as he got another cigarette out and turned to leave, he saw the rabbit sit right in front of him, holding the watch up once again before crouching down and jumping at him, hitting him in the chest with its powerful hind legs.

Shizuo stumbled back, frantically trying to find his balance again but it was pointless. He fell backwards and right through the hole. Darkness surrounded him as he rushed through the air.

At first an awful smell crept into his nose and he grimaced at it but soon it was gone and the humid air made place for the smell of wood and grass. It was still dark around him and he was confused as to why he was still falling. That hole surely couldn't be that deep.

Shizuo tried to reach for the wall, for a ladder, anything he could get his hands on but there was nothing. He groaned loudly and his eyes widened when he could see a light underneath him.

He narrowed his eyes at it and cried out when the ground came closer way too fast.

His body crashed into black and white tiles, leaving them cracked. For a few seconds he just stayed like that, spread out on the floor like a corpse, until he brought a fist up, bringing it down harshly to destroy more of the neatly arranged tiles.

Shizuo finally raised his head, taking in his surroundings. What he saw made him question his sanity once again.

He was in a round room. The walls were painted in various colours and a large chandelier was hanging from the ceiling. In the middle of it stood a wooden table. Shizuo got up, groaning at the pain in his back. He stepped closer to the centre of the room, inspecting the contents on the wooden surface.

A key, a small bottle with a note saying 'Drink Me', and a plate with a piece of cake and another note that said 'Eat Me'.

Shizuo took the key and looked around once again. He froze when he spotted a door. After glancing to the key in his hand briefly, he made his way over to it but as he got closer, the door seemed to get smaller. When he stood in front of it, it was the same size as a mouse, or maybe still big enough for a white rabbit to fit through.

The blond crouched down anyway, pushing the key into the hole that took up most of the door, and opening it. He put his head onto the floor to look through it, only seeing a stone path.

As he rose to his feet again, he glared at the small hole in the wall before glancing back to the table. For some reason he knew that if he drank or ate that stuff, he would be able to get out of that stupid room, but he really didn't want to do that.

So Shizuo decided to solve this problem like any other coming his way.

He grabbed the table, making its contents fall off, and roared as he threw it into the wall right above the tiny door. It left behind a slightly cracked wallpaper but not more than that so he raised his leg and tried kicking at it.

After kicking the wall three times, it finally started to crumble, stones falling to the ground. Shizuo stepped closer and pressed his flat hands against it. He pushed against it with all his strength and eventually it broke down, dust surrounding him. He crossed his arms and took a deep breath before stepping through the wall and onto the other side.

The view in front of him made him drop his arms again and open his mouth in wonder. He was standing on the stone path he had seen through the hole. It lead through what seemed like a forest at first but after looking up Shizuo realised that those weren't trees at all but colourful flowers of the same size. He gasped and stepped closer slowly, still staring up at them.

"That stupid flea must've drugged me." He mumbled as he walked along the stone path and through the forest of flowers.

When he finally lowered his gaze, he stopped in his tracks.

"What the fuck am I wearing?" He asked himself, carefully touching the blue suit. Other than that he was wearing fitting pants in the same colour and a white dress shirt underneath. "This is definitely a really bad trip."

Shizuo let go of the silky material and sighed, lowering his head so his bangs fell into his vision.

"Who is that?"

"The White Rabbit brought him here."

"Why though?"

"How would I know?"

"I thought you know those things."

"Well, I do not."

"Does he even know where he's going?"

"Probably not."

Shizuo slowly raised his gaze again, trying to find the source of the voices.

"He heard us!"

"Of course he did. You're always shouting."

"I am not!"

Finally he found it, his eyes widening. The flower trees had faces.

Fucking faces and mouths.

And those mouths were talking.

Three of them were looking down at him, seemingly very interested.

"Why hello!" One cheered.

Shizuo just kept staring up at them. That was it. He was crazy. Yep.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Cat? Where?"

"That's just a saying."

"Oh, okay."

As they were arguing, Shizuo slowly stepped back, trying to escape.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"That is not very polite!"

He blinked up at them again, raising his hands peacefully. "I-I'm sorry."

"Oh! He's a cutie!"

"You've known him for like five minutes."

"But look at him!"

Shizuo decided to just roll with it. He took a deep breath and looked straight at those weird faces. "Hey! I have a question!" He called.

All three heads looked at him. "Yes?" They said simultaneously.

"Where am I?"

The flowers looked at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Shizuo frowned at that and crossed his arms.

"You are in Wonderland!" One of them said eventually.

His eyes rolled at that. "Wonderland...right..."

"Does he think we aren't talking the truth?"

"I think he thinks we are saying the untruth."

Shizuo raised a fist towards them. "Stop that babbling and tell me what's going on! And untruth isn't a real word! Even I know that!"

They just started laughing again, sounding like a bunch of elderly ladies.

"Hello! I could really need some help here!" He called, almost pleaded. "I don't know where I am or how I got here. Or what kind of drugs I'm on for that matter."

They stopped laughing at that, looking at each other.

"He really is confused."

"What does he mean? Drugs?"

"Maybe we should tell him to go find the Caterpillar."  
  
"Yes! He really is confused."

Shizuo listened to their conversation until he decided he had enough. He stepped towards one of their trunks and grabbed it harshly. "I want information. Right now!"

The flower he had just grabbed whined and shook her head. "Ah! Stop that!"

The other two watched with wide eyes before finally opening their mouths again. "Go find the Caterpillar! He can help you!"

"Caterpillar?" Shizuo asked, slowly letting go of the flower.

"Yes! Just keep walking! You'll find him!"

The other two nodded quickly.

"Keep walking!"

The blond narrowed his eyes and slowly started moving his feet again. "If you lied to me, I'm going to come back and pull you out of the ground."

The flowers remained silent at that, glaring after him as he went along the path.

"Caterpillar?" He asked himself, pushing his hands into the pockets of his blue dress pants. "Whatever that means."

 


	2. Old Enemies, Caterpillars and The Knave of Hearts

Shizuo kept walking until his feet started to ache but there wasn't an end to the forest. It was getting darker by the minute and he had to concentrate to not walk straight into a tree.

Yes, tree.

Those weird flower things had finally made place for real trees. They looked kind of blueish and rotten but they were still trees.

Eventually he sighed and sat on the ground, right in the middle of the path.

"This is stupid." He hissed and punched the ground, a few stones cracking at his strength.

"It seems you are a bit lost." A soft voice purred.

Shizuo looked up to see a branch right above his head. Slowly, a figure appeared on it.

"And I'm still dreaming." He groaned, rubbing his eyes briefly before looking at it again.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

"Flea!" Shizuo hissed and got up, glaring up at the copy of his arch nemesis.

Yes, it definitely looked like Izaya, but then it didn't.

He was sitting on the branch, his legs crossed while grinning down at Shizuo. That dumb coat of his wasn't missing but it looked slightly different. It was black, just like the real one, but the fur parts were that glowing violet colour instead of brown.

Other than that, everything about him seemed normal.

Well, maybe except for the cat ears and tail.

"What the fuck?!" Shizuo yelled at the sight, stumbling back. "What kind of game is this?"

Izaya narrowed his eyes and watched Shizuo. "It appears you are all kinds of confused at the moment."

As the blond was staring up at the informant sitting on the branch, the other suddenly disappeared right in front of his eyes, making Shizuo jump back. His back hit something and when he turned around, crimson eyes met his. "You are a human." Izaya purred and leaned closer.

Shizuo froze and stared at the black tail flicking around behind the raven. "Yes! You are not though!"

The informant grinned at that and started to step around Shizuo to take a look from all angles. "Did the Rabbit lead you here?"  
  
The blond blinked at that, turning his head to follow the other with his eyes. "Yes. How do you know?"

Izaya stopped suddenly and Shizuo moved to face him. "What are you called?" He asked instead of answering.

Shizuo narrowed his eyes, slowly getting angry. "Stop it already! You know my name damn well, even though you refuse to use it instead of that stupid nickname."

Izaya just watched him, the black ears on top of his head twitching slightly.

Shizuo watched them. He wondered how the raven was doing it. It was probably some plan to make Shizuo think he was crazy.

"I am not familiar with any kind of name that is used to address you." He told the blond calmly, his voice soft as velvet.

"I have no idea how you're doing any of this, but it's not working, alright? Stop it. Just say 'Oi Shizu-chan, I tricked you. All of this is a game.' and let me go home." The debt collector groaned, trying to imitate Izaya's voice.

The raven watched him with curiosity shining in his eyes. "Shizu-chan?" He asked and chuckled. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's not my name! That's the point of it, you stupid louse!" Shizuo roared, reaching out to grab the other's collar but the informant was faster, jumping back just in time.

"I am not a louse, nor a flea. I start to believe you have a problem with your eyesight since you are clearly blind." Izaya purred and grinned up at the other.

Shizuo froze and blinked at him. "Was that an insult?"

Izaya said nothing and laughed.

"Fine, you're trying to keep this act up? I'm playing along." The blond said but glared at the other. "Those weird flowers told me to go find a caterpillar."

The raven grinned and nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. Sounds like you seemed really helpless."

"Shut the fuck up already, Izaya!"

His ears twitched at that and a curious look reached the informant's face. "Izaya?"

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Yes. That's your name, remember?"

Izaya leaned his head to the side in question. As the blond watched his expression, he slowly started to doubt that the raven had made all of this up because he had never seen Izaya look at someone like that.

Never.

"It is not?" He asked carefully.

The guy who looked like Izaya shrugged and grinned again. "Call me whatever you want. If you miss that Izaya guy so much, I'd be glad to help you out."

"I do not miss him! How'd you get that idea?"

"You want me to be him so desperately." The raven purred, leaning closer. "Shizu-chan."

"Just tell me who you are." The blond growled, forcing himself to not move away.

"Everyone just calls me the Cheshire Cat."

"Cheshire Cat..." Shizuo watched him, his face blank. "That sounds dumb. I'll just call you Flea."

That seemed to stir an emotion close to anger inside the other. "I am not a flea, you dumb human."

"Whatever, then I'll call you Izaya since that's probably who you are." Shizuo told him as he pushed him aside. "I don't have time to chat with you. I still need to find out what is going on."

Izaya huffed and crossed his arms as he watched the other walk away. "I doubt you'll understand the Caterpillar's advice."

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you calling me dumb?"

"That is such a harsh word."

Shizuo threw his arms in the air in frustration and started walking away. "That's it. I'm leaving."

"You have no idea where you're going. Let me help you." Izaya purred as he suddenly appeared right in front of the blond.

"Yeah, I'm not that stupid." Shizuo mumbled. "And stop just appearing in front of me. I don't know how you're doing it but it's annoying."

Izaya glared at him. "Just let me help you."

"Why?"

The raven blinked at him before turning around. "You need to head into that direction." He said, suddenly sounding cheerful as he started walking ahead.

Shizuo wanted to argue, say something to make that dumb flea disappear but he found himself following the other quietly.

Eventually he tried to analyse the situation he was in. So he fell down a hole while running after some rabbit, punched a wall to get through a tiny door, talked to flowers the size of trees who told him to find a caterpillar and now he was following a copy of his arch nemesis with ears and a tail.

Yes, that pretty much summed it up.

And it really sounded like a bad drug trip.

For some reason he was starting to believe it wasn't like that at all. It actually seemed to be real. Shizuo didn't know how he started to believe it but somehow he did.

He looked up and started watching Izaya jump along the path in front of him happily. Shizuo would never admit it to anyone but seeing a familiar face, even though it was Izaya's, was kind of a relief.

Eventually, the scenery changed. Everything was covered in a weird blue mist and the trees nearby were covered in shiny blue leaves.

"We are almost there." Izaya chirped happily as he lead Shizuo further into the mist until he wasn't able to see his own feet any more.

"Geez, what is that stuff?" The blond asked as it was getting harder to breathe.

"No idea what he's smoking at the moment." Came the answer.

Shizuo frowned and almost crashed into Izaya as the other stopped. The raven pointed into a direction and Shizuo groaned as he carefully stepped into the blue dust.

"Hello?" He asked and coughed, covering his mouth with one hand. After a few steps the mist started to fade though and he was able to make out shapes again. What he saw confused him even more.

In front of him was a large blue mushroom and on top sat indeed a blue caterpillar the size of a cow. Even more irritated him the bong the animal was holding as it inhaled said smoke.

"So all of this is just you getting baked?" Shizuo asked the creature.

It turned its head slowly and blew smoke into the blond's direction who started coughing again. "I do not understand what you are referring to. If you are looking for baked goods, you should have visited the Hatter instead."

Shizuo just ignored the comment and stepped a bit closer. "So, the flowers told me to come here since you can probably help me with my problem."

The Caterpillar just inhaled once again while looking anywhere but Shizuo. "It is not a question of the ability as such but more of your understanding of the problem."

The blond frowned dumbly. "What?"

Suddenly someone latched onto his shoulder and when he looked down, he spotted Izaya, or his weird copy, leaning into him. "I told you, you wouldn't understand him."

"Oh, great. You brought a feline friend. I do not appreciate his presence." The blue creature said, glaring at Izaya briefly who just grinned up at him.

"Long time no see, bug." The raven greeted. "This human wants to know the reason for his visit to Wonderland."

The 'bug', as Izaya had called it, blew smoke into their direction and shook his head. "Reason? Why would someone look for a reason behind such a thing as wonder and madness."

"Guys, I'm still here." Shizuo growled but the two just ignored him.

"He seems to confuse me with someone he knows." Izaya said. "You wouldn't happen to know why."

"Insanity connects and splits realities. If the Rabbit has brought him here, he is most likely meant to serve a higher purpose. It is possible someone else got dragged into it as well."

Shizuo grinned at that. "So you are Izaya!" He told the smaller male.

"I am not."

"An illusion." The Caterpillar said. "Dragged from your mind to serve its own purpose."

Izaya chuckled and looked up at Shizuo, who was once again trying to understand the thing's words. "So, he is not Izaya?"

"He is but he is not."

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Well, why would it?" Izaya said, seemingly serious.

"It would be nice to get a real answer for once." Shizuo groaned, ready to turn away. "This insect isn't really helping. Let's go."

The Caterpillar didn't react, even as Shizuo basically insulted it by calling it an 'insect' and so the blond tried to make his way back through the mist.

Izaya appeared next to him out of nowhere. "So where do you plan on going now?"

"I have no idea."

"Great plan."

"Shut up, flea."

The raven huffed and crossed his arms, his tail moving around behind him angrily. "I told you, I am not a flea."

They reached the path again and the mist started to disappear slowly.

"Well, the Izaya I know is for sure." He mumbled while stubbornly moving forward even though he had no idea where he was going.

"What's so bad about him? I mean, you obviously don't like him but you refuse to accept that I am not him." Izaya sighed, suddenly turning right and walking straight into the woods.

Shizuo froze and blinked after him briefly before following. Surely, the guy knew where he was going.

"He is just plain evil." He told the other.

"How so? I mean, not that I haven't heard that about me either."

The blond narrowed his eyes at the guy and shrugged, even though he didn't see it.

"Izaya just doesn't care about others. He claims to love humans but all he does is destroy lives and laugh about it."

The Izaya walking ahead of him remained silent at that, his ears twitching briefly though.

"I try to kill him every chance I get but that damn louse just gets away."

Finally, the raven turned to look at him. "You try to kill him? Why?"

"I don't like him."

"That's not a reason."

"It is for me. Now, shut up. Where are we going anyway?"

Izaya turned ahead and started walking again, pushing a few branches aside as he did, which hit Shizuo right in the face.

"We are going to visit an old friend of mine. Maybe he can come up with an explanation for all of this."

"Who is that friend? I hope it's not another caterpillar."

Izaya just shook his head and stopped yet again when they reached the end of the forest. In front of them laid another stone path, leading through a yellow field.

They started following it when a noise made the raven look around.

Shizuo watched as those black ears moved into all directions. It fascinated him in a way, Even though he had never been a cat person, he had to admit that it did make Izaya look cute.

Wait, cute?

He did not just think Izaya was cute.

"What is it?" He asked quickly.

Izaya narrowed his eyes and then he was gone, just vanishing from Shizuo's vision.

The blond blinked at the spot where the other had been just a few seconds ago. "Huh? What the fuck?"

That was when he heard it too. The sound of hooves meeting the ground.

And it was coming closer.

Maybe it was the way Izaya had acted but for some reason he was pretty sure it wasn't a good sign, so he jumped into the field and crouched down so they wouldn't see him.

The noise came closer and closer until he could clearly see the strong legs of a horse right in front of him. He just hoped he wouldn't be seen with that stupid blue suit.

"What is it? Did you smell something?" A deep voice asked and then two feet met the ground right outside the field, making Shizuo jump back.

Why was he hiding anyway? He never hid or ran away.

When a figure appeared next to him, he flinched and stumbled back, his butt hitting the ground rather harshly.

Of course it was Izaya sitting in front of him. He held a finger in front of his lips, motioning for him to be quiet.

Then he was gone again and Shizuo blinked at the spot until he heard his voice nearby.

"Why hello. If it isn't the famous Knave of Hearts." Izaya purred.

Shizuo carefully pushed a few plants out of his view to see what was going on.

Next to a black horse wearing all red armour, a large man with long black hair stood. He was wearing weird-looking armour as well, coloured in red just like the horse's.

Above him, Izaya was floating, looking like he lay on his stomach casually.

Fucking floating in the air.

How?

Shizuo stared at the raven, trying to comprehend what was going on.

"What do you want, Cheshire Cat?" The man asked, reaching for the sword hanging off his belt.

"Oh, please. I am no threat to you." Izaya chuckled, his tail curling behind him.

"Tell me the reason for your appearance."

"I could ask you the same. Is it something specific you are looking for?"

The Knave of Hearts let go of the weapon and turned away from the floating raven to search the area. "It doesn't need to concern you, Cat."

"But maybe I could help." Izaya said with a grin, turning upside down in the air as he floated closer to the man.

"All you do is wreak havoc. The Queen would've let your head be chopped off it you weren't so hard to catch."

Izaya laughed and put his head down on the man's shoulder, still upside down. "The Queen used to love having me around."

The man moved away, leaving Izaya hanging in the air next to him. "I'd prefer you stop talking such nonsense. Tell me if you saw anything out of the ordinary instead."

The raven hummed, seemingly thinking about it. "Out of the ordinary? Anything specific you have in mind?"

"Just tell me or I will use my sword against you."

Izaya grinned and finally turned around again. "Maybe I did notice something that does not belong here."

Shizuo froze at that and a voice inside him screamed at him that he had been stupid to trust Izaya, even in this world. The guy was most likely as much of a manipulative liar as the version he knew.

"Do tell me." The Knave of Hearts demanded.

The raven straightened and let his feet touch the ground again. "I witnessed someone lurking around the area who does not belong." His grin reappeared. "I mean, it does not happen often that one of the Queen's closest men appears around here."

The man rolled his eyes at that and stepped closer to Izaya. "I wish I could just cut your little heart out of your chest and present it to my Queen. She would surely be glad to receive such a special gift."

A giggled escaped the smaller man. "One might say you are in love with her."

At that, the man's face turned red like his armour before he turned away and got onto his horse again. "As always, you're not very helpful."

Izaya bowed and smiled. "Always a pleasure."

The Knave of Hearts grimaced before forcing his horse to move again. "If one of you dull creatures is hiding something, I promise you, I will find out and come to collect their head."

The raven just nodded and disappeared.

Shizuo watched as the horse galloped away before relaxing, sitting back in the dirt.

When he heard a noise beside him, he didn't even bother to turn his head. "For a moment, I really thought you're going to stab me in the back."

Izaya crawled closer to him, resting his head on the blond's shoulder. "Aw, Shizu-chan. Do you really have so little faith in me."

Shizuo pushed him away and sent a glare his way. "I've met you a few hours ago."

"But you claim to know me."

"If you really were Izaya, I'd be dead by now. I guess I should thank you." He sighed and awkwardly patted the other's head. Izaya's ears fell back against his head at the touch.

"No need to thank me, really. I love to play with the Queen's men."

Finally, Shizuo felt safe enough and got onto his feet. "That guy didn't seem to like you very much."

Izaya got up as well, running a hand through his hair. "It's not like anyone does." He said, not grinning for once.

Shizuo watched as the raven stepped back onto the stone path. "Didn't you say we were going to visit an old friend of yours?"

"I did indeed say that." He sighed, looking up in thought. "Maybe 'friend' was the wrong word."

The blond followed him through the plants and brushed dirt off his clothes. "So that 'friend' might not be happy to see you?"

"I do not know. Maybe, maybe not." Izaya purred, putting on a smile again. "I guess we'll have to find out."

And with that he started walking. Shizuo opened his mouth to say something, but he ended up closing it again and just started following Izaya.

He didn't really have a choice.

All he wanted was to get back home.

And maybe have a smoke.

He sighed as he realised for the first time, that he indeed must've lost his cigarettes on the way down.

Or maybe they just disappeared with the rest of his clothing.

What a pain.

Izaya was jumping along the path happily. Shizuo had to admit that he almost enjoyed the raven's company.

He would miss that when he got back home and had to deal with the real Izaya again.

Maybe he could pretend.

Just for a while.

 


	3. Beauty and the Beast

"Flea! I'm tired." Shizuo groaned a few hours later when they were still walking along the path.

Izaya looked over his shoulder and fixed his slightly narrowed eyes on the blond. "I will think about helping you out once you address me correctly."

Shizuo rolled his eyes and quickened his pace slightly so he was walking next to the other. "Can't we rest for a bit. I had a pretty busy day. I just wanted to go home and fall into bed."

"Too bad you're here now." Was the only response he got.

Izaya lifted his chin and kept walking heedlessly.

"Oh, come on. You must be tired too."

The raven just shook his head. "How was your day busy anyway?"

Shizuo pushed his hands into his pockets and sighed, looking up at the dark sky. "I have a job, you know."

"A job?"

"Yeah, even someone like me has to earn some money for a living."

Izaya chuckled at that. "Someone like you? What is that supposed to mean?"

The blond shot a glare at the other who was grinning up at him. "You are the one calling me a beast and monster all the time."

"We already talked about this, Shizu-chan. I am not Izaya."

"You are."

"I am not!" Izaya hissed, stopping in his tracks to cross his arms and glare at Shizuo. "Why would I call you a monster?"

Shizuo stopped as well and raised his eyebrows at the smaller man. "Well, because I always destroy the city and hurt people?"

"That doesn't make you a monster. You don't have the mind for it." The raven mumbled and lowered his gaze. "You're a good person."

The blond blinked at Izaya before bursting into laughter. "I wish I had my phone because I'd make you say that again so I can record it and show it to that louse when I'm back!"

Izaya just stood there and watched Shizuo, ears twitching and tail moving around aggressively. "I should just leave you here on your own to fend for yourself." He hissed eventually.

Shizuo brushed tears off his cheeks as he panted, desperately trying to calm down again. "I'm sorry."

"Obviously." The raven groaned sarcastically. "You know, I don't have to help you."

"Then why are you doing it, huh?"

Izaya seemed taken aback at that. "I...uh...I just felt like it, I guess."

"You just felt like it?"

The raven nodded and started walking again. "Yes! Now, shut up and let's get going."

Shizuo looked after him before grabbing him by the hood of his coat.

"Hey! Let go!" Izaya whined as he stumbled back and right into Shizuo.

"Don't be such a bitch. Let's rest." The blond said calmly and looked around.

All around them was grass with a few weird-looking flowers in between. Some of them seemed to shine in the dark.

Suddenly his grip was empty and Izaya hovered above him. "I say, let's not."

Shizuo glanced up at him briefly before walking off the path and into the grass where he simply laid down. "Do whatever you want. I'll take a nap." He yawned and closed his eyes.

Izaya remained silent but soon the blond heard footsteps behind him and when he opened one eye, the raven was leaning over him. "Are you being serious? The Queen's guards might come by here and find you."

Shizuo closed both eyes again and shrugged. "Let them find me."

"You are so stupid." He heard Izaya hiss before something moved next to him and when he turned his head and blinked his eyes open again, the raven was sitting in the grass next to him.

"You giving up?" The blond asked but the other ignored him and looked away. "So you're giving up."

"I am by no means 'giving up'. I am simply giving in to your stupid idea because I know I won't be able to change your mind and arguing would be useless."

Shizuo shrugged and hummed as he got more comfortable. He just wanted to get some sleep.

"So, the bug said you serve a higher purpose." Izaya said, making the other groan.

"He also said you're Izaya, but also not, so what does he know?"

The raven moved next to him. It took him a while to speak again.

"Well, if my understanding of the situation is correct, then I am indeed the person you know as Izaya."

Shizuo opened his eyes and looked up at the frowning man.

"There are quite a few possibilities as to why that is. I'd like to know if he is missing where you are from." Izaya continued. "If he is, then I am him and everything I know is an illusion. If he's not though, then all I am is a copy of what you think he is."

"Are you saying that all of this is happening in my mind?" The blond asked.

"Yes, and no. Wonderland is a real place. It's a world filled with dreams and nightmares."

Shizuo blinked at him dumbly. "So...is this just me having a bad dream."

Izaya looked down at him and grinned, the fur on his coat glowing faintly. "Is it really a bad one?"

As he leaned closer with his tail moving around lazily behind him, the debt collector moved away slightly. "I-I...uh...what?" He stuttered as he stared into those crimson orbs.

He had always known that some people call Izaya handsome or even pretty but Shizuo had never really thought about it since he hated that stupid flea.

With the raven leaning close to him and the faint glow around him though, he had to admit that he understood what they meant.

The dark hair and light skin mixed with the almost fluorescent colour of those eyes was indeed an almost breathtaking sight.

"Didn't you want to take a nap?" Izaya asked and it took Shizuo a few seconds to realise the words he had spoken.

He shook his head to get rid of those treacherous thought. "Uh, yes."

"Don't let me keep you awake." The raven giggled and looked up at the sky.

Shizuo kept staring for a few minutes, just taking in the other's features and calm expression before he decided he had to be really exhausted. The blond closed his eyes and tried to imagine being in his apartment, in his own bed.

It didn't even take five minutes for him to fall into a deep sleep.

As soon as Izaya heard the other's even breaths, he turned his head again and watched the man's face. A smile appeared on his own before he looked up at the blinking stars of Wonderland once again.

 

 


	4. The Mad Hatter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I totally forgot how awesome being a fanfiction writer is like you guys are so nice! Thanks for your awesome comments!  
> You know, I'm actually trying to write a book at the moment. I'm posting it on Wattpad but not once did I get feedback on it so this is great for a change!!!  
> I might just keep writing fics instead of original stuff...  
> Sorry I'm rambling  
> Now enjoy :)

Shizuo slowly opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the harsh light of the sun hitting him in the face.

He groaned and turned his head away, only to have his face full of hair.

"The fuck?" He mumbled and blinked a few times.

After sitting up and looking around, Shizuo realised two things.

One, it hadn't been a dream and he was still in Wonderland.

Two, Izaya had been sleeping peacefully with his head basically resting on the blond's shoulder.

Being woken up by the absence of his pillow, Izaya blinked his eyes open and yawned while stretching happily. His ears laid back against his head and his tail moved slowly in the grass.

Shizuo stared at the slightly sharper front canine teeth he headn't noticed earlier.

When the raven finished his morning routine, he sat cross-legged in front of Shizuo and smiled sweetly. "Good morning to you too, Shizu-chan." He purred.

"Didn't expect you to still be here." Shizuo mumbled and got up. He stretched his arms briefly before moving a hand through his ruffled hair.

"Why would you think such a thing about me?" Izaya asked, almost sounding a bit hurt. He kept sitting in the grass and looked up at the blond innocently.

"Because..." The blond started. "Because that's what the flea would've done."

The raven rolled his eyes and started hovering in the air, only to stretch his legs out under him and land on his feet. "Let us not start discussing this again."

Shizuo crossed his arms and shrugged. He refused to look at Izaya, his thought from the last evening still present in the back of his mind.

"So are we still going to find that friend of yours?" He asked instead while staring at some flowers by his feet.

The raven nodded. "Yes and I think we are going to find him soon." He grinned and stepped past Shizuo, away from the path they had been walking on the previous day.

The blond frowned as he looked after him. "Where are you going? Aren't we following the path?"

"Nope. I think we are far more likely to find him if we stay away from it."

"And you didn't have that idea yesterday?"

"The thought did cross my mind once of twice."

"Then why didn't you say something?"

Izaya turned to look at him, his ears twitching nervously. "Weren't you enjoying my company?"

Shizuo seemed taken aback as he blinked at the other. "What?"

"So were you? Enjoying it?"

"Why does it matter?"

That made the raven turn away again. "Forget about it. Let's go."

For a second, Shizuo thought about throwing something at the stupid flea, just like he would back in Ikebukuro, but the lack of heavy objects and the fact that he actually didn't want to made him shake his head at the thought.

So he just followed Izaya through the green field for what felt like an eternity. Both remained silent the whole time.

After about an hour, Shizuo looked up from staring at his shoes as he heard voices.

Or more like manic laughter.

Izaya must've heard it too because the raven stopped walking and looked over his shoulder to grin at Shizuo. "Found him!" He cheered before starting to hover in the air again.

"Sounds like this is going to be a real pain." The blond mumbled as he watched the raven. "And can't you just stay on the ground?"

Izaya glared at him briefly before his grin reappeared. "The answer is no." Then he started moving into the direction of the voices.

A few minutes later a table came into view.

Yes, a freaking long table in the middle of nowhere. It was covered in plates, cups and several kinds of food. A large throne-like chair rested at the head of it and a tall man sat in it.

The hat he was wearing looked like it might fall of any time since it was so big. His eyes were a light blue colour and his expression looked rushed, almost nervous or scared as he forced a large grin onto his face.

"What do my eyes come to face here?" He laughed like a madman, reaching for a cup desperately. "The dearest Cheshire Cat! Here! Have some tea!"

The man filled the cup with what had to be said tea and threw it at Izaya, who slipped away just in time. Shizuo wasn't that lucky, as the cup hit him right in the face, emptying its contents onto the collar of his dress shirt before falling to the ground.

Izaya let his feet touch the ground as he started to laugh. "Still mad, I see?" He turned to face Shizuo who was trying to not grab the table and bury that crazy man underneath it. "Shizu-chan, this is the Mad Hatter."

The blond took a few deep breaths and nodded. "Yeah, I see..."

"Who is that one and why did you bring him here?" The Hatter asked before downing a cup of tea. "I would offer him a cup as well, but he's had enough already."

Shizuo's look shot daggers at the man. "You threw a fucking cup at me, you psycho!"

"I wouldn't have to do such things if the Cat would just accept my offer."

Izaya suddenly appeared in a chair next to him and rested his head on his arms. "He is a human, my dear Hatter." He told the man and pointed up at the sky. "He is not from around here and doesn't know our rules of etiquette.

"Someone from the Above? Oh!" The Hatter gasped and got up, pointing to a chair politely. "Please, have a seat."

Shizuo hesitated but when Izaya nodded reasurangly, he sat down.

The Hatter reached across the table for another cup, knocking over several obejcts in the process. He filled it with tea and placed it in front of Shizuo. "Here, drink some tea."

"I don't want any. Thanks."

Izaya chuckled as he grabbed a cupcake. It didn't look appealing at all since it was basically the colour of green-ish puke. He wasn't planning on eating it and just held it in his hand instead.

"Please, I insist." The Hatter said through gritted teeth.

"I do not want any." Shizuo replied equally irritated.

"Do or do not drink it but be sure you know about the consequences." Izaya mumbled, suddenly sounding bored.

Both looked at the raven, who was still inspecting the cupcake in his hand.

"Consequences?" Shizuo asked as he looked down at the cup in front of him.

The tea looked weird, like it changed colour every time he risked a glance.

Izaya ignored the question and looked up at the Hatter again. "We are trying to find out the reason for his visit and it seems I look like someone he knows. Any ideas in that mad head of yours?"

The man's eyes moved from Izaya to Shizuo almost manically.

"You do know what a human's presence means!" He hissed at Izaya. "If the Queen finds out about this..."

"She doesn't know. At least, not yet."

"She will find out about him! And she will find out that I knew about this! And you too! She will cut all our heads off!"

"Stop freaking out."

"How can you not?!" The Hatter almost yelled at the still calm Izaya.

The raven rolled his eyes and threw the cupcake over his shoulder carelessly. "Do you have anything else to say about this or should we just leave?"

The man looked over at Shizuo again, his eyes wide. "The Queen must be destroyed before she can destroy this land but no human was ever able to do so."

"Yes, and the Queen never managed to destroy Wonderland. What are you trying to say?"

Izaya flinched as the man leaned closer to him. "That woman is evil. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it."

"Tell me something new."

"Only the White Queen can defeat the Red Queen."

Izaya chuckled at that and pushed at the Hatter's chest to get some of his personal space back. "Well, the White Queen failed."

"Yes! If she can't do it, no one can."

"He might be able to. He's not like the other humans who came here."

Blue eyes moved towards Shizuo again, who just sat there, watching their conversation.

The Hatter suddenly calmed down, leaning back again. "You say he sees someone he knows in you?"

Izaya nodded.

"Someone human?" He asked Shizuo this time.

The blond nodded.

"Then maybe you two can defeat her together."

Izaya and Shizuo locked eyes at that.

Shizuo looked confused while Izaya just seemed curious.

"What makes you say that?" The raven asked the Hatter.

"Well, he is human." The man told them, pointing his finger at Shizuo. "And if you appear as someone he knows, someone who is also human, then maybe one and a half humans can do it."

Izaya nodded understandingly while Shizuo just frowned stupidly.

"The fuck?" The blond asked.

"He does have a point there, Shizu-chan."

"No, he doesn't! That's bullshit!" The debt-collector barked and got up, looking down at the two. "And who is that stupid queen you keep talking about?"

The Hatter looked at the cup in his hand before throwing it across the table where it shattered on a plate before crossing his arms and looking up at Shizuo.

"The Red Queen rules over this land."

"She isn't very good at it though." Izaya continued for him. "In fact, she just loves to chop heads off."

Shizuo rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration as he listened. "Okay, so correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounded like you guys expect me to bring that woman down, right?"

They looked at each other before nodding.

"That's probably why you're here, yes." The Hatter sighed. "Quite a few humans have visited this land already. Some tried to kill her, but no one actually succeeded."

"So, you knew about this?" The blond asked, looking at Izaya.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the reason I am here! You knew! I'm supposed to kill a queen? You could've told me!"

"Excuse me! The last human came here a really long time ago and we never knew why it kept happening! It's not like there's someone with all the answers!" Izaya hissed, suddenly flying out of his chair and hovering over the table.

"The White Queen might know." The Hatter said suddenly, making the other two look at him.

"We don't even know where she is." The raven huffed.

"Exactly. She disappeared after she tried to bring down the Red Queen. The humans started coming here after that happened so maybe she knows something but since she's not around, she wasn't able to tell anyone."

Izaya blinked a few times before jumping to the ground next to Shizuo. "You know, sometimes I forget that you do have a clear moment every once in a while, Hatter."

The man just reached for another cup and laughed briefly. "But there is one thing I still don't get."

"No, I do not know why a raven is like a writing desk." Izaya chuckled and turned to leave.

Shizuo frowned. He seemed to be doing that quite a lot since he had arrived in Wonderland. The Hatter looked down at his cup sadly and groaned.

The blond sighed and looked up at the sky. "A raven and a writing desk, huh? I'd say both are things you can throw but the raven would just spread its wings and fly away. Sorry, man." With that he turned and followed Izaya back through the green field. Manic laughter filled the silence around them as they left without saying goodbye.

 

 


	5. What if...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is kinda shitty and short  
> I really wanted to update today but I'm exhausted so...shitty...gah

Shizuo was stomping through the field, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he followed Izaya, who seemed to know exactly where he was going, as always.

“Hey, Flea!” The blond called after a while. When the other didn't react, he rolled his eyes and tried again. “Izaya!”

The raven turned around at that. “Yes, Shizu-chan?” He asked with a grin, his tail flicking around in amusement.

For some reason, Shizuo felt the urge to wrap a bow with a bell around it. It would probably drive the poor guy crazy.

Would he chase his tail like a cat would?

He pushed the thought away again and tried to concentrate on the conversation.

“Where are we going now?” He asked as he tried not to stare at the raven's cat parts.

“We are going to find the White Queen.” Izaya told him and chuckled. “Wasn't that obvious?”

Shizuo stopped in front of him and shook his head. “No”

“Well, I know where to find her.”

That made Shizuo frown. “What? You know where she is? I thought no one knows.”

Izaya smirked and shrugged, taking a few steps backwards before turning around to start walking again.

The blond glared at his back and followed quickly. “The fuck?! And I thought you weren't as much of an asshole as the flea I know!” He hissed. “So even in Wonderland, you're just some evil informant who loves to ruin lives, hm?”

Izaya just kept walking and ignored Shizuo but his ears laid back against his head. It almost looked like he was ashamed, which was probably just wishful thinking.

“You said the Red Queen used to like having you around.” Shizuo continued as he recalled Izaya's conversation with the Knave of Hearts. “What did you do, huh?”

“It's none of your business, really.” Was the short reply.

“I bet you've got something to do with the White Queen disappearance. I mean, all you do is wreak havoc.”

Izaya suddenly whirled around, baring his teeth at Shizuo. “You are confusing me with someone else yet again! You don't even know me, okay?!”

The blond watched the other's outburst calmly. Those eyes really burned like fire when he was angry. He had never seen his Izaya like that. All the guy did was grin and laugh like it was a game. Shizuo had never managed to bring true anger to the surface.

“You're still Izaya.” He said with a shrug.

“I bet you don't even know anything about that guy either. You just hate him for the sake of hating someone.”

Shizuo thought about that for a moment before opening his mouth again. “I just didn't like the way he looked at me when we were introduced to each other.”

Izaya just glared at him. “Seriously? That's it? That's why you don't like that guy?”

The blond nodded. “Yes”

The raven shook his head and crossed his arms. “Sure, why get to know someone first when it can be hate on first sight.” He turned away and started moving again.

Shizuo looked after him. He had never really thought about it that way. For him, hating the flea was just the way things were supposed to be. Izaya had already been involved in some shady stuff back then. Still, what would have happened if Shizuo had given him a chance.

Would they be friends?

If so, maybe he could've helped the guy sort his life out so he wouldn't end up being one of Ikebukuro's most dangerous men.

His thoughts from the previous day suddenly returned and Shizuo froze.

What if they would have ended up being more than just friends?

No, that was just stupid.

He didn't even know if Izaya was into men.

Hell, Shizuo didn't even know if he was into men. All he knew was that, yes, the guy was attractive in a way and he could understand why so many girls had been after him in high school.

“Are you coming or what?”

That pulled Shizuo out of his thoughts. He blinked a few times and spotted Izaya in the distance.

“Uh, yeah.” He mumbled and started walking quickly.

His thoughts were still running wild as he tried to catch up. Once he was walking next to the other, he took a deep breath before speaking up.

“Hey, Izaya...”

The raven didn't even look up at him. “What?” He hissed quietly.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Please do. It might help with your poor levels of intelligence.”

Shizuo shot a glare at him. “Stop insulting me.”

“Then stop being stupid.” Izaya mumbled and glance up at the blond briefly. “Go on. Ask.”

“Okay, so...” Shizuo hesitated. “In a way, you are the Izaya I know, right?”

“We've had this discussion.”

“The caterpillar said you are and you are not. I think you are Izaya but you don't know it.”

The raven stopped walking suddenly and Shizuo did the same once he noticed. When he turned to face the other, crimson eyes were staring at him.

“W-what?”

The blond smirked and crossed his arms. “What's that surprised look for? Am I right?”

Izaya rolled his eyes before looking away. “If what you are saying is true, how would I know?”

Shizuo's smirk disappeared and he lowered his gaze. “Oh, right.” He sighed. “Whatever. I just wanted to know if you think that maybe we could have been friends, you know, if I hadn't just started hating you right from the start.”

Once he looked up again, the expression on the other's face showed no emotion at all.

“I don't know, okay? Let's pretend your thesis is correct. How am I supposed to answer that question without those memories?”

“Come on, considering the time we spent together, do you think we could be friends?” Shizuo asked and stepped closer to the raven.

Izaya let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. “Well, maybe? You're kind of an entertaining guy.”

Shizuo waited for the other to start laughing but to his surprise, it seemed to be his honest opinion.

“Okay, great. Thanks, I guess.”

Izaya nodded and looked past him. “There's the path.”

Shizuo turned around as Izaya stepped towards it. “Right, so where is the White Queen?” He had totally forgotten about the purpose of their journey.

When did his relationship with that louse get more important than getting back home?

The raven stepped onto the path and smirked at Shizuo over his shoulder. “The Red Queen's castle, of course.”

 


	6. The bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaaat?  
> Another update??  
> Woooow!  
> Your awesome comments inspired me I guess :3

“This looks like a doll house.” Shizuo mumbled as they hid behind a bush. In the distance there was a large castle, looking like the one you would find in Disneyland, except this one was painted in red and black. “Looks like it's made out of plastic. Not threatening at all.”

Next to him, Izaya rolled his eyes. “I only understand half of what you're saying but don't underestimate her.”

Shizuo huffed and stretched his legs as he got up, leaving their hiding space. His companion glared up at him and reached out to grab his wrist in an attempt to pull him down to his level again.

“I am not scared of that Queen. I could've beaten up that weird fanboy of hers but you had to play the hero.” The blond told him.

“Get back down here. What if someone sees you?” Izaya whispered as he checked their surroundings by looking around the bush.

“Let them find me.”

“You don't know what you're talking about.”

“And you don't know what I'm capable of.”

The raven frowned and stumbled back when Shizuo crouched down. He reached underneath the bush, grabbing the roots and ripping it out of the earth with ease before throwing it away mindlessly.

Izaya sat there in the dirt, staring up at Shizuo. “What did you do that for?” He asked and his expression turned into one of annoyance.

“You're not impressed?” The blond wondered, his eyebrows raised.

The other shook his head, his ears twitching briefly as he stopped the movement. “Impressed? Why would I be? What were you even trying to prove by that?”

“Well...” Shizuo hesitated briefly. “I'm pretty strong, I guess?”

Izaya blinked at him before breaking into a fit of laughter. “Seriously?” He giggled. “Good for you!”

The blond narrowed his eyes. “You're annoying.”

“So what are you going to do? Just barge in, punch the Red Queen in the face, save the White Queen and then you're our hero and everyone wants a piece of you?” The raven laughed harder. “You're so funny, Shizu-chan.”

“Would you mind shutting your mouth?” Shizuo growled.

Izaya just kept laughing, the tip of his tail twitching wildly.

The blond crossed his arms and watched the louse loose it.

It seemed like it didn't really matter where he was, Izaya just refused to be scared of him.

Or take him seriously for that matter.

“What do I get if that actually works?” He asked suddenly, making the other look up through tear-filled eyes.

“Huh?”

“What do I get if I can just break the door, throw everyone in my way across the gates, punch the Red Queen and save the White Queen?”

Izaya was still panting but had calmed down otherwise. His face showed curiosity as he looked up at the blond. “Oh, Shizu-chan~” He purred with a grin. “You want a big price waiting for you at the finish line?”

Shizuo thought about it for a second before nodding. “Yes, I do.”

The raven chuckled and got up to face the other. “If that ridiculous plan really ends up being successful...” He began but hesitated as he thought of something. One of those mischievous smiles spread over his face. “Then your price shall be a kiss.”

The blond searched Izaya's face, waiting for the louse to laugh into his face but he seemed to mean it. “A kiss? What kind of price is that?”

“Why?” Izaya said with a pout, a smile still obvious underneath. “Not good enough for you?”

Shizuo huffed and turned away, looking at the dumb castle in the distance. “Why do you think I want a kiss from you?”

“I never said I would kiss you but if that's what you want.”

A blush tinted the blond's cheeks a light shade of red.

Shit.

He thought about a good comeback but as he opened his mouth, the words just refused to come out.

“Aw, does Shizu-chan want a kiss?” Izaya mocked him. “Is that why your relationship with that guy is such a complicated one? Is it because you secretly like him?”

“Shut up!” Shizuo barked after finally finding his voice.

“I am right though.” The raven giggled. He jumped forward and wrapped himself around the blond's arm, looking up at him through big crimson eyes. “Does Shizu-chan have a crush on me?”

Shizuo froze but didn't feel the immediate want to throw the flea into orbit.

Why?

Why didn't he push him away?

“You're not Izaya.” Was all he said while his thoughts ran wild.

“So now I'm not? That sounded different earlier.” The raven chuckled. He leaned up so he could whisper into the taller man's ear. “You can always pretend I am.”

That did make Shizuo push the flea away but Izaya just giggled as he stopped his fall mid-air, floating there while watching the blond through half-lidded eyes.

“I don't even want to do this any more. Just tell me how to get back home.”

But Izaya started shaking his head. “No, that's not how it works.”

“What do you mean?”

“Shizu-chan has to help us in order to get back home.”

Shizuo leaned back as Izaya got closer to him until they were face to face. “No, I don't. You said there were humans before me visiting Wonderland.”

Izaya nodded. “Yes, of course, but no one said they ever got back home.” He giggled and touched his nose to Shizuo's, who stumbled backwards in shock.

“W-what?” He stuttered and stared at the other. “What happened to them?”

The raven turned onto his back while still ignoring the laws of gravity, watching the blond, his head upside down. “They died. Eaten by the Jabberwock.”

“Eaten by what?”

“The Jabberwock. The Red Queen's dearest pet.”

Shizuo took a deep breath and massaged his temples. “I am so not going to ask about that.” He groaned and stomped his feet angrily. “So no one ever got out of this place?”

“Not one of them.”

“Great! Just great!”

Shizuo was pretty much freaking out and the floating cat-like Izaya beside him didn't help.

“But Shizu-chan is the first one with me by his side.” The raven purred almost softly.

“I bet you just watched happily as all the others died.” The blond hissed, finally looking at Izaya again.

“You are thinking such awful things of me.”

“Because you are a stupid louse!”

“I am not a louse!”

“Yes, you are! I don't care if you know who you are or not. I'm going to punch you for it.”

Just as Shizuo growled and actually raised his fist, Izaya disappeared, leaving the other to stare at nothing in surprise.

“Fucking flea! Get back here!” He hissed and whirled around desperately but he was alone. “Izaya!”

Nothing.

Izaya was gone.

Shizuo let his arms fall to his side and a groan escaped him as he turned to looked at the castle again. “So I just have to punch that bitch to get back home. I can do that.” He mumbled to himself and started walking. “And just so you know!” He yelled, looking around. “That bet is fucking on!”

He had no idea why he said that but if he knew one thing about Izaya, then that he loved games and this one would definitely peak his interest again.

He was probably watching Shizuo from somewhere with that stupid grin of his.

Fine, the flea wanted a show?

He would get one.

 


	7. The Red Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So actually I had something different planned but I was listening to some music and I was like A BALL!   
> Dunno why don't judge me. 
> 
> I hope the explanation satisfies you. I know it's not bulletproof but it's Wonderland. Things don't have to make sense :D  
> And I just noticed this chapter is like really long heh

The walk to the castle took Shizuo longer than he had expected. When he finally stood in front of it, the sun was already setting.

Oh, and Izaya was still fucking gone.

He just stood there, looking up at that ridiculous doll house when someone bumped into him from behind.

“Hey!” He barked and turned around, secretly hoping he would see a pair of crimson eyes. Instead, there were two kids standing in front of him. A boy and a girl. Both had shoulder length red hair and were kind of chubby.

“Who is that?” The girl asked the boy.

“I do not know.” He answered.

“Is he visiting the Queen's ball too?”

“Probably.”

Shizuo raised an eyebrow.

A ball?

What?

The kids were still blinking up at him expectantly.

“There's a ball?” He asked carefully.

“Yes!” The girl cheered before raising her hand, showing the vintage-looking mask she was holding.

“The Red Queen's ball.” The boy said before taking the girl's hand and pulling her past Shizuo and towards the gate.

The blond looked after them.

If there was some kind of event going on he couldn't just barge in there, right?

Sure, he could.

But he didn't want anyone beside the Queen and her men to get hurt.

“Tweedledee and Tweedledum.” The kids told the guard simultaneously and the man nodded before letting them in.

Shizuo groaned and watched as the gates closed behind them.

Should he try to get in anyway? Maybe he could sneak past everyone and try to find the White Queen somehow.

But that way he wouldn't win the bet.

Why did he want that anyway?

“Fuck” He mumbled and looked around just as a group of weird-looking people approached the castle. Shizuo stared at them. A woman with large ears, another had a huge nose and a man with a freaking gigantic belly were only a few.

He hesitated for a second as they walked by before simply stepping after them. He would just act like he was part of their group.

The guard eyed the small crowd suspiciously but eventually nodded and opened the gates for them.

Shizuo lowered his head as he followed them inside and towards the large open doors that probably lead into some kind of ballroom. There was music playing somewhere even though he couldn't quite place where it was coming from. It seemed to come out of every direction at once.

Inside, Shizuo stopped, finally loosing the group as he took in his surroundings.

He had been right. It was a ballroom. The walls were red with golden symbols painted on them, in one corner stood a table covered in delicious-looking snacks and drinks and the chandelier hanging above his head seemed to shine in a different colour every time he blinked.

What really made him gasp though was the huge throne basically towering over the crowd from one side of the room. The wall behind it was made out of glass, showing a wide garden behind it.

On top of the throne sat a woman. Shizuo guessed this was the Red Queen.

She didn't look anything like he would have imagined though.

She was a tiny woman dressed in a bright red dress. Her features were soft, only ruined by the wild crimson hair falling over her shoulders. It made her look kind of intimidating.

“This is a masquerade, you know.” Someone purred behind him and before he could turn around to see who it was, something covered his face.

“What the fuck?” He hissed and reached up. A mask now hid half of his face.

Shizuo whirled around and narrowed his eyes.

“Fl...Izaya.” He growled.

The raven was wearing a mask as well. It was violet with black lace around the corners. Other than that, he was wearing tight pants with a violet and black chess pattern on them, the black shirt and his usual coat with the glowing fur linings.

Shizuo had to admit that he looked good.

Really good.

“You were gone.” Was all he managed to say as he was still staring at the other.

Izaya chuckled and stepped past him but Shizuo grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“You just disappeared and now you're here?” He asked quietly so no one would hear. “Did you know about this ball?”

The raven smirked and stepped closer to him. “Is Shizu-chan sad because he can't win the bet now that there are so many people here?”

Shizuo glared at him and tightened his grip on the flea's arm. “Just answer the damn question. Did you know?”

“Of course I did.” Izaya purred and got up onto his tip toes, wrapping his free arm around the other and whispering in his ear. “You should be careful. They might notice you're not from here. Oh, I've got an idea. Just pretend you're here with me. No one will suspect a thing.”

Shizuo turned his head away and bared his teeth. “Fuck you. I don't need your help. Just go ruin someone else's life.”

The blond stepped back and Izaya's arm slipped off him, remaining in the air between them for a second before falling to his side.

“Fine. Good luck then.”

And with that the raven was gone yet again.

Shizuo groaned and crossed his arms. Maybe he was overreacting but he was annoyed since the stupid flea had just disappeared without a word about his whereabouts.

He shouldn't have raised his fist at him.

~ ~ ~

Shizuo moved around the ballroom for about an hour, listening to people's conversations whenever he got the chance.

So apparently the Queen held this ball once a year to celebrate her birthday and just a few special individuals were invited.

For example, the Mad Hatter wasn't invited since she didn't like him. The man had tried to stab her the one time he had been allowed to come so she made sure he would be trapped in an endless tea party.

Those were the kind of things he heard others talk about like it was entertaining gossip.

And he thought Ikebukuro was full of shit.

Eventually he stood in front of the buffet but since Izaya had more or less warned him about drinking the Hatter's tea Shizuo didn't really feel like eating or drinking anything in Wonderland.

Even though he was starving.

“This is dumb.” He mumbled to himself and pulled the mask off his face, turning it over in his hand. It was the same blue colour as his clothes with white lace around the edges.

Had Izaya expected him to show up?

Of course!

He was still Izaya.

Shizuo turned away from the buffet and looked across the crowd. He hadn't managed to spot the guy since he arrived so where was he?

Izaya wasn't the kind to dance so he kept ignoring the decently filled dance floor.

His gaze went over to the Queen, who was still sitting in her throne in front of the windows. She watched everything below her with a satisfied expression. Shizuo was just about to tear his eyes away when he saw her turn her head and break into a smile.

And there he was.

Izaya was standing next to the throne, leaning down to whisper something into her ear, making her laugh out loud this time.

“That dumb louse! I knew he couldn't be trusted.” Shizuo growled and his hand around the mask turned into a fist, crushing it in the process.

Then Izaya gazed up and looked straight at him before his eyes moved away again quickly.

'That's it! I'm going to tear her fucking head off.' Shizuo thought and stumped across the room and towards the throne.

“Have you tried the cake?”

“Yes! It is truly delicious!”

“Apparently it's a special recipe.”

“Oh, I need it!”

A group of women with extremely long necks walked past him, making him stop and stare for a second as they talked about the greatness of the baked goods.

Once his view of the Queen was free again, he hesitated.

Izaya wasn't next to her any more.

“What are you doing?”

Shizuo whirled around to face the raven, who had once again appeared out of nowhere. His ears were twitching nervously, as did his tail.

“Why were you talking to the Queen?” The blond asked but Izaya quickly stepped forward to cover his mouth with his hand.

“Shut up already.” He hissed and glanced around briefly. “And where is your mask?”

Shizuo narrowed his eyes and raised his hand, showing him the destroyed piece of accessory. Those crimson eyes moved downwards to look at it.

“Shizu-chan! Why did you do that? It was your disguise!”

The taller man pushed his hand away and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Don't pretend you are helping me.”

“I am, you stupid protozoan!”

Shizuo froze briefly at the insult. His Izaya always called him that.

“I'm not that stupid. You were talking to the Queen.”

The raven stepped closer and reached up to ruffle the other's blond hair so his fringe was falling into his eyes in a weak try to create another disguise. “Oh, so I must be evil.”

“You are evil!” Shizuo hissed quietly and pushed him away again.

“Stop being so stupid. They are going to notice something off about you soon. I was trying to distract her.”

Shizuo froze at that. He searched Izaya's face for something that would expose him as a liar but as his wide eyes kept staring up at him, the blond knew he was speaking the truth.

“So you really were helping me?” He asked carefully and scratched the back of his head.

The flea rolled his eyes and looked around again. “Of course.”

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something as his ears straightened. Izaya turned around and the tail now facing Shizuo was starting to puff up.

“Hey, what is it? Talk to me.”

Shizuo looked past Izaya and spotted three creatures. They looked like...playing cards?

“What are those?” He whispered and the raven faced him again.

“The Queen's card soldiers. If they are here, it means they are looking for something.” His gaze turned into a thoughtful frown. “Or someone.”

“Card soldiers? How stupid is that?”

“Shut up.” Izaya hissed and leaned up to glance over the blond's shoulder. The Queen was still sitting in her throne and she was staring right at them. “Fuck, she knows.”

“Who?” Shizuo asked dumbly and turned to see as well, but Izaya was already reaching for his hand to pull him through the crowd and towards the doors.

“We need to leave.”

“What? But the White Queen...”

“Forget her.”

Shizuo suddenly stopped and pulled the raven back, who just looked up at him like he was crazy.

“Shizu-chan, what are you doing? Let's go. She will chop your head off.”

“Let her try. I am not going to leave.” He decided and as Izaya didn't move he just pulled him even closer by his hand until they almost stood chest to chest.

“You can't just punch everyone in your way.”

The blond looked over his shoulder and spotted the card soldiers again. They were coming closer, their spear-like weapons raised.

“Shizu- ”

“Stop it already.” Shizuo groaned and when he faced Izaya again, he was confused.

Was that fear in the flea's eyes? He had never seen that emotion on his face.

“Listen, just let me handle this, okay?” He told Izaya, who seemed ready to protest but Shizuo already turned around just in time to see the card soldiers part the crowd and stop in front of him.

“In the name of the Queen, you are under arrest.” One said as he pointed the spear at him.

It stopped right in front of Shizuo's nose, who looked down at it. “Oh, am I now? Why?”

“You...” The soldier looked at the others. “You are human.”

The blond smirked and grabbed the spear. “Some might disagree.”

And with that he pulled the weapon out of the soldier's hand and snapped it in half like it was a toothpick. Once he had thrown the pieces over his shoulder, Shizuo stepped forward and grabbed one of them by the collar, lifting him into the air. “I would like to talk to the White Queen.” He growled and the man in his grip started to shake visibly.

“T-that is not possible.” He stuttered so Shizuo shrugged before throwing him into the crowd.

The guests tried to move away quickly as they noticed what was going on but some were hit to the ground by the card soldier crashing down onto them.

After that, there was no stopping him any more. He reached for the next two and sent them flying into the buffet. The table broke and different kinds of food slipped down onto them.

The people who had been watching from the side eventually started to panic and flee the room in horror.

The only one who wasn't moving at all was Izaya. He just stared up at Shizuo in shock.

“I guess you should take back what you said earlier.” The blond told him before pushing his hands into his pockets and casually walking over to the throne.

The Queen glared down at him, her eyes filled with rage. “What do you think you are doing, human?!” She hissed as she finally got up.

Shizuo stopped at the bottom of the few stairs leading up to her beloved seat and watched her with a bored expression. “I am here for the White Queen.”

The Red Queen narrowed her eyes as they moved across the room, eventually falling on Izaya who was still standing in the same spot. “You brought him here, didn't you?” She yelled. “I shouldn't have let you in! You can't be trusted!”

“Don't talk about him like that.” Shizuo mumbled and the Queen's eyes locked with his again.

“What did you just say?” She barked, her voice getting higher. “I will speak to my citizens however way I please!”

“You know, usually I don't hit girls.” The blond sighed and slowly climbed the stairs, looking down at her. “But for you I'll make an exception.”

“Don't you dare touch me!” She shrieked. “Guards! Off with his head!”

“They can't help you. Just tell me where I can find the White Queen.”

“I won't tell you anything!”

Shizuo could hear more card soldiers fill the room behind him but he just ignored them and reached out to grab the woman's arm. “You sure about that?”

She bared her teeth at him and remained silent.

Just as Shizuo was about to snap her thin arm in half, Izaya appeared beside him.

“Shizu-chan, stop.” The raven told him quickly, putting a hand on Shizuo's shoulder. “Please”

The blond looked down at him for what felt like minutes before dropping his hand with a huff. Izaya stepped between them, facing the Queen.

“He just wants to find a way back home. The White Queen might know something. Just let us speak to her and we won't bother you again.”

The Red Queen narrowed her eyes at that. “I would never have thought that you end up having a weak spot for a human, Cheshire Cat.”

Izaya crossed his arms and glanced over his shoulder at Shizuo, who was watching him closely. He couldn't believe that the flea was actually trying to help him.

“I do not. You know the presence of a human always leaves chaos behind so we better get rid of him now.”

Shizuo really had to suppress the urge to shake Izaya until he finally made up his mind.

“And you think I believe that? You're not one to care about those around you. You watch the chaos from afar with a smile on your face.” She told him with a chuckle. “Anyway, you seem to forget who I am.”

Izaya's tail puffed up again and Shizuo watched as it twitched nervously.

What was she talking about?

He should've ripped her head off when he had the chance.

“You know that I have many names. The most common one by now would be Red Queen but remember what they used to call me.” She paused and grinned up at Shizuo. “The Queen of Hearts.”

Izaya hissed at that.

He actually hissed like a fucking cat, startling Shizuo for a second before he could send the Queen a confused expression. “So what does that mean, huh?”

“It means that I can look into your heart and use it against you.” Her laugh sent shivers down Shizuo's back. “And this little kitty right here? He's got everything locked away so neatly but I can see the cracks in the walls he put up.” She twirled a finger around a strand of her red hair. “So tell me, human, is it because of you?”

Izaya glared at her and jumped forward but Shizuo wrapped an arm around his chest to hold him back.

“Calm down. This is not like you. You're always so collected.” The Queen sighed and shook her head.

“Can we talk about the White Queen again?” Shizuo asked calmly.

She seemed taken aback at that and crossed her arms. “I see how it is.” A grin appeared on her face. “Why don't we take a look at your heart?”

“I don't really give a fuck if you do.”

“Oh, do you?” The Queen stepped closer and Izaya tensed up in Shizuo's grip. “Very interesting.” She mumbled as she watched him closely.

“What?”

“I see you are quite a builder yourself. That is a pretty solid wall you've got there but it's already crumbling to the ground.” Her eye narrowed. “And I can see who it is coming down for.”

Suddenly, she pushed Izaya out of the way, startling Shizuo with her movement so he let go in shock. The raven wasn't able to react in time and hit the floor.

“Hey!” The blond barked but she was already standing right in front of him and raising a hand to hold it to his chest right above Shizuo's heart.

“Oh, I see how it is.” She gasped before grinning. “You aren't the only one who got dragged to Wonderland.”

Shizuo frowned and glanced to Izaya who was getting up from the floor.

“The Rabbit must've been desperate this time.”

“Tell me what you are talking about already.” Shizuo growled and pushed her hand away.

The Queen laughed and turned around to take a seat in her throne again. “Right, you don't even know.” She looked at Izaya. “Both of you.”

“Wait.” The blond groaned, holding both hands up to shut her up. “You know why Izaya is here?”

“It's not the why, but the how.”

Both males watched her expectantly but she just ran a hand through her wild locks and smiled. “Why should I tell you, huh?”

Shizuo's hands turned into fists again. “Because I'm going to snap you in two if you don't.”

“Shizu-chan...” Izaya started but the other shot him a glare, shutting him up immediately.

“Nicknames, huh?” The Queen sighed. “Actually, I want to tell you because your faces would be priceless.”

“Then tell us!”

She hummed in thought, her eyes moving between both of them. “Fine. So every once in a while the Rabbit goes up to your world to collect a human who he thinks might be able to bring me down. No one's ever managed to do that as you can see so he must've thought that Wonderland needed two heroes.” She paused and giggled. “There's a problem with that. Only one human at a time can visit Wonderland through the rabbit hole.”

Shizuo crossed his arms and his jaw twitched. “That's how I got here. I fell down a hole.”

“Exactly. After that, the portal closed on its own. There is another way though.”

Izaya lowered his head and nodded to himself. “The looking glass.” He mumbled, making Shizuo frown at him.

“Yes, the looking glass.” The Queen agreed. “The Rabbit must've tricked your friend into walking through it but since there was another human in Wonderland already, he didn't make it. At least not all of him.”

“So he is Izaya after all?”

“He is. There is no doubt. There wasn't any space so he ended up taking the place of one of us. The Cheshire Cat.”

Izaya started shaking his head. “No! You're lying! I'm not the guy he is talking about.”

The Queen got up suddenly and stepped down to face him. “You are. His memories got lost on the way though.”

The raven was still shaking his head. “No...”

She smiled almost softly at him and cupped his cheek. “It's alright. In no time, his memories will be lost forever so don't worry.”

Shizuo's eyes widened at that. “Wait, what did you just say?”

The Queen dropped her hand and faced him. “What part confused you?”

“You said his memories will be lost. What does that mean?”

She stepped over to him and smirked. “The man you know as Izaya Orihara lost his memories and the more time he spends here like this, the harder it will become to get them back so eventually there won't be a single piece of him left.”

Shizuo could only stare at the woman.

Izaya would be gone?

Well, the Izaya he knew.

He glanced over to the raven whose eyes were moving between them nervously.

Shizuo hated Izaya.

He had hated the flea as long as he could remember but was he okay with that? Could he just accept him losing his memories and becoming a part of Wonderland?

For some reason, he couldn't.

“No, that's not gonna happen.” He said and sighed. “Is there anything we can do to stop it?”

The Queen chuckled and climbed up to her throne again. “Both of you would have to return to your world before his memories are lost forever but it's not like that's gonna happen.”

Shizuo growled and stepped after her, grabbing her throat as she was about to sit down. “Listen, lady. You tell me how to get out of here right now or I swear I'll snap your neck.”

“Why? You hate that man. I saw it in your heart.” She managed to croak. “Why save him? You can just leave him here.”

“Tell me!” He barked and shook her slightly.

“No” She laughed and Shizuo narrowed his eyes, ready to tighten his grip when a sharp pain shot through his back and he let go.

“Fuck!” He yelled and whirled around. One of the card soldiers stood a few meters away and when the blond looked over his shoulder, he spotted a spear sticking out of his shoulder. “You piece of shit!” He growled and rushed towards the man, grabbing him and throwing him into the next wall.

Shizuo panted and grabbed the end of the spear, quickly pulling it out of his flesh. “Okay, now I'm fucking pissed. This stupid Wonderland can kiss my ass!”

He groaned and ran right into the crowd of soldiers.

Izaya was still standing beside the throne, watching as Shizuo crushed all of them.

“He really is quite entertaining. Too bad he will just end up being another snack for my beloved Jabberwock.” The Queen sighed and grinned down at Izaya.

The raven looked up at her and chuckled. “And I will be glad to watch.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh? I thought you liked him. Don't you want to get your memories back, Izaya Orihara?”

He glanced over to Shizuo again and shook his head. “Why would I? Curiosity killed the cat, right?” Izaya smirked and bowed down. “It was a pleasure, my Queen, but I shall be on my way now. Have fun with this one and make sure to invite me once you decide to feed your pet.”

The Red Queen smiled in appreciation and nodded. “I will.”

And with that Izaya disappeared while Shizuo was still throwing around card soldiers like paper planes, unable to notice the flea's disappearance in his state of pure rage.

 


	8. The Price

The White Queen looked up when she heard a noise.

Not that she was able to see anything in the darkness of the dungeons she was being held in.

Her hands were chained behind her back, not allowing her to move away from the wall and her long white hair covered the dirty ground around her, her glowing eyes staring into the darkness.

Then she heard footsteps come closer.

“Who is it?” She asked, her voice barely a whisper. She hadn't used it in years.

A figure appeared in front of the metal bars, illuminating the space around them.

“You...” She gasped.

Izaya smiled and appeared inside the cell, standing above her. The fur linings of his coat were the only source of light.

He crouched down and searched her face. “My Queen, I am so sorry.” He whispered and reached into his pocket to get a bobby pin. The raven had no idea how it had gotten there along with the pocket knife which had also just appeared out of thin air.

He used the unknown item to unlock the chains and stood up again, holding a hand out for her to take.

The White Queen gazed up at him and took it, letting herself be pulled to her feet.

“Why are you here?” She asked quietly.

“I am the reason you ended up in here. The least I can do is help you escape.” Izaya told her and turned to leave but she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

“I never thought it was your fault.” She said softly but Izaya just lowered his head. “What is it? You are not quite yourself.”

He turned to face her again and she carefully pushed his chin up with her free hand to observe his face.

“Something happened...” He mumbled hesitantly.

“Tell me.”

Izaya smiled at her and shook his head. “Not right now, my Queen. We need to get you out of here while the time is right.”

The White Queen sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

Izaya used the bobby pin again to open the door of the cell and checked their surroundings. They had to be quick and leave as long as Shizuo was still distracting the Red Queen and her guards so the raven took the White Queen's hand and lead her through the dark hallways.

  
  


~ ~ ~

  
  


Shizuo was panting heavily as he looked down at the mass of card soldiers on the floor. It didn't surprise him that those creatures weren't a threat at all.

They were freaking cards.

When he heard slow clapping, Shizuo turned around. The Queen was standing across from him, watching with a smirk and clapping her hands.

“That was quite a show.” She laughed and dropped her arms.

The blond narrowed his eyes and searched the room.

“Where's Izaya?” He asked and stepped towards her.

She raised her chin and shrugged, pretending to be innocent. “Why do you think I know?”

“Because you're just as manipulative as that dumb flea.” He growled and leaned down so they were face to face. “So where is he?”

“He left.” The Queen told him. “Told me to invite him once I feed you to the Jabberwock.”

Shizuo blinked at her in disbelief. “You're lying.”

“No, I am not. He doesn't care that you're in love with him.”

The blond froze and opened his mouth to say something, yell at her, anything, but they were interrupted when another card soldier rushed into the room.

“My Queen!” He gasped and stopped next to her, bowing quickly.

“What is it?” She asked, sounding annoyed as she kept watching Shizuo.

“The White Queen...she is gone. Someone must've helped her escape.”

That did make the Queen look at the man, her eyes wide.

“What?!” She shrieked and faced the soldier, who was stepping back slowly as she reached out to grab him by the neck. “How could this happen?!”

“W-we don't know.” He croaked.

“You're useless!” She yelled and pushed him away. “Someone cut his head off!”

Instantly, two others rushed in and grabbed the man by the shoulders. He coughed and tried to protest but they pulled him out of the ballroom easily.

“You're a real bitch.” Shizuo chuckled as he looked after them. “So the White Queen got out, huh? I think I might know someone capable of that.”

The Red Queen shot him a glare. “The cat?! So he betrayed me! Again!”

“Yeah, trusting him was kinda stupid.” He mumbled and turned to leave.

“Hey!” She called after him. “Where do you think you're going?”

“Doesn't have to concern you, really. It's not like any of your men could hold me back.”

“Oh, is that so?” She hissed quietly but Shizuo was already stepping outside and making his way over to the large gate.

He reached it and raised a foot to kick it open when someone appeared in front of him, grabbing his foot and pushing him back. Shizuo cried out in shock and fell onto his butt.

“The fuck?!” He barked and looked up at his attacker.

The Knave of Hearts was standing above him.

“The Queen says you're under arrest.” The man told him and pulled his sword out.

The blond watched the movement and waited a few seconds before slowly getting up. “You won't let me go?”

“Exactly.” The Knave of Hearts said, pointing the blade at him.

Shizuo looked down at it and sighed. “You know, I really hate it when people point weapons at me.”

“Too bad. Get back inside!”

The man was way too confident about his skills. Shizuo shook his head and caught the blade between his palms so it wouldn't hurt him. “Nah”

His attacker seemed surprised and as he stared at the hand around his weapon, Shizuo pulled it towards him, making the Knave of Hearts stumble forward so he could kick him in the stomach.

“You guys never learn.” The blond mumbled and stepped over the body now lying in the dirt. “Dumbass”

Breaking the gate wasn't too hard. He just kicked at it once and it gave way so he could walk through it and away form the castle.

No one came after him.

He hadn't expected them to.

“So if I were a little kitty trying to hide a queen, where would I go?” Shizuo asked himself, looking around.

Eventually he decided to just followed the past leading away from the Red Queen's property. He walked for about ten minutes while looking up at the bright moon when someone tapped his shoulder from behind.

Shizuo tensed up and whirled around, ready to punch whoever it was in the face but it wasn't just anyone.

Izaya stood there, his hand still raised. A small smile was resting on his face as he looked up at the blond. “Hello, Shizu-chan.”

“Flea...” Shizuo gasped. “Sorry, I mean Izaya.”

The raven chuckled into his sleeve before dropping his arm. “I see you got out in one piece. I was ready to go back for you.”

“Don't be ridiculous. That was easy.”

“Yeah, I see.” Izaya said softly. “Sorry for just disappearing but your outburst was a great distraction.”

Shizuo blinked a few times before breaking into a fit of laughter. The other eyed him with raised eyebrows. “Did you just...apologise? To me?”

“Yes? Why are you laughing?”

“I doubt you ever apologised to anyone.”

Izaya's ears laid back against his head. “There's a first time for anything, I guess.”

Shizuo slowly calmed down and once he was able to breathe normally again, he locked eyes with the raven. Izaya looked up at him, his eyes wide.

Something about him was different but Shizuo couldn't quite point it out.

“Listen, Shizu-chan...” He bit his lip before continuing. “I know who I am now but it's difficult because I don't feel any different. It's not like I know anything is missing.”

“Stop it.” The blond said quickly. “I don't want to hear any of this. Let me tell you what's going to happen. We are going to talk to the White Queen and she will tell us how to get back home so everything can go back to normal.”

Izaya sighed and lowered his head. “So we can go back to hating each other?” He whispered.

“Huh?”

“I don't know if I want to go back, or get my memories back for that matter.”

“You're talking bullshit. We are going back home. Both of us.”

“You can't just decide for me.” Izaya hissed quietly, looking up at the other again.

“Yes, I can! Right now, you're not really you so I've got to make the decisions for you.” Izaya looked ready to protest again but Shizuo was already grabbing his arm and pulling him along. “I don't want to hear another word about this. Tell me where we are headed instead.”

The raven struggled for a while but eventually gave up and followed after Shizuo willingly. “To the White Queen's castle. She's probably already there.”

“Good”

Izaya looked down at the hand still holding onto his wrist. He glanced up at the back of the blond's head briefly before slowly moving out of his grip and intertwining their fingers.

Shizuo's shoulders tensed up but he slowed down his pace so they were walking side by side.

“I will go back with you.” The raven said softly. “But in case I forget about all this when I get my memories back, you need to promise me one thing.”

Shizuo looked down at him expectantly and Izaya stopped walking, pulling on the other's hand to do the same.

“What is it?”

Izaya stepped even closer, watching Shizuo's face with those crimson eyes. “Don't let me hate you again.”

The blond noticed the desperation in Izaya's voice and nodded. “I won't. I'll follow you around and annoy the shit out of you until you have no other choice but to put up with me.”

The raven chuckled and brushed his fringe out of his face. “Sounds great.”

Shizuo smiled and looked down at their still joined hands. “By the way, I got into the castle and beat up those card soldiers so you could rescue the White Queen.” He said nervously, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “So does that count as winning the bet?”

He didn't care if it was weird.

Since he had arrived in Wonderland he had seen a version of Izaya that didn't hate him and Shizuo had to admit that he enjoyed the man's company. Sure, the flea would always drive him crazy with his dumb smirk and twisted thoughts but they had always been drawn to each other.

Even though he had kind of felt better every time ha had chased Izaya around the city, he knew he never would've hurt him.

Why not exchange hate for...

...something else?

“Shizu-chan, you just want to kiss me.” Izaya purred, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Shizuo still didn't understand it. He didn't know what was wrong with him or when exactly he had started feeling like Izaya wasn't that bad at all.

He only knew that somewhere along the way he had started watching the way those crimson eyes lit up when the raven was excited or happy. Shizuo wanted to see it again and he wanted to be the reason it happened.

“So what if I do?” He asked.

Izaya stopped laughing and his ears twitched, his gaze moving from Shizuo's eyes to his lips and back up again. Then he smiled. “Then do it.”

Shizuo hesitated only for a second before mumbling an 'Okay' and pulling on the flea's hand.

Izaya got onto his tip toes as Shizuo leaned down to crash their lips together. The first contact was almost harsh but it soon turned into something soft and slow.

The raven pressed closer and let go of his hand to wrap both arms around the taller man's neck. Shizuo couldn't help but smile into the kiss as he buried his fingers in those dark locks.

Izaya nibbled on his bottom lip and Shizuo pulled his hair slightly and then those lips were gone again. Otherwise they didn't move though. Izaya was still wrapped around him, holding on like his life depended on it and letting his head rest against the blond's chest. Shizuo wrapped his arms around him.

“Yep, definitely not going to leave you alone once we're back.” He chuckled and Izaya glanced up at him briefly with heated cheeks.

“I hope so.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't write kiss scenes.  
> Sorry  
> I'll try getting better at it


	9. Two Queens and a Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short and it's basically just a filler because I feel like shit   
> I apologise

 “And what kind of food do I like?” Izaya asked.

“Sushi”

“What's that?”

“Raw fish”

“Yummy!”

Shizuo chuckled as he watched the raven jump across the stones on the path on his tiptoes. He kept asking questions about his life back in Ikebukuro.

“Do I have any friends?”

“Friends?” Shizuo looked up in thought. “I guess Shinra kinda counts.”

“Who's that?”

“An underground doctor who's in love with a headless woman.”

Izaya stopped briefly and blinked up at Shizuo. The blond almost expected him to be weirded out by that, but he just started smiling.

“Sounds like a cool guy!”

Shizuo raised an eyebrow at that but Izaya started jumping around again.

It was like that kiss had put a magic spell on him or something.

Like it had broken the guy's mask.

“Are you really Izaya? You're not acting like it.” Shizuo mumbled with a small smile. “I think I might just start looking for someone else.”

Izaya whirled around and gasped. “Hey!”

Shizuo put his hands up and laughed. “Sorry, I was joking.”

“You better be.”

They kept walking alongside each other for a while and eventually a large castle came into view. It was white and the facade seemed to glow in the dark.

“Is that it?”

“Yup” Izaya said with a smile and leaned against the blond. “If we keep up the pace we might reach it in about an hour.”

“Then let's get going. I really need a break and some food.”

So they started moving again. The path lead them through another small forest but this time the trees looked healthy and green with glowing fruits growing on them.

“So what's your story with the Red Queen, huh? Her fanboy said she hates you.” Shizuo asked after a while of walking in silence.

Izaya hummed and lowered his head. “Of course you want to know.”

“Yes, tell me.”

The raven took Shizuo's hand and sighed. “Fine, it's not like it's a secret.” He glanced up at the other briefly before watching his feet again.

“So when I was a kid the White Queen found me in the forest and took me in. That's what she does. She takes people in. I swear, that woman is too good.” He chuckled and shook his head. “She took good care of me and made sure I had everything I needed but I got bored, so I started wandering around during the day.

One day I met a woman in a small cottage and she was nice and offered me some tea so I kept visiting her every once in a while. Apparently, that woman was a criminal who the White Queen had banished from her land. At the time, I thought it was unfair so I took her back to the castle.

The White Queen wasn't happy about it, to say the least. That was when the woman, the Red Queen, showed her real face. She still had quite a few followers, who had helped her wreak havoc back in the day. Her goal was to overthrow the White Queen and eventually she did just that.

The Red Queen threatened to kill every single one of the one's protected by the White Queen and because her heart is just way too pure, our dearest Queen couldn't let that happen so she surrendered.”

Izaya paused and when Shizuo looked down at him, the raven's face held no emotion at all.

“I could've helped her but I didn't do anything. I was still a kid and I didn't know what to do so I went with the Red Queen as she took over Wonderland. She always kept me by her side and I liked to keep her company. She was nice and eventually I got her to do things I wanted.

She was really easy to manipulate so I did just that but then the Knave of Hearts showed up and he saw what I was doing. Of course, he told the Red Queen. At first, she didn't believe him but when I tried to make her behead the Tweedles just because they creeped me out, she noticed. That wasn't the smartest thing, I have to admit.

She tried to lock me up in the dungeons. That's how I found out where the White Queen was being held. I got out every time. I mean, what did she expect? Then she tried to behead me and so I ran away.”

Izaya took a deep breath.

“That's basically it.”

Shizuo remained silent for a few minutes, just walking alongside the raven. Eventually, he opened his mouth and thought of something to say.

“That doesn't sound too bad, to be honest.” He said. “I mean, like you said, you were a kid.”

Izaya laughed and started jumping along the path again. “Oh, Shizu-chan. You're just trying to see the good in me. How sweet.” He looked over his shoulder at Shizuo and smirked. “I could've rescued the White Queen anytime but I never did. I liked the chaos created in this land. It was interesting to watch!” He spread his arms and looked up at the moon with a wide grin.

Shizuo stopped beside him and observed his face. “Yeah, now you sound like Izaya.”

He walked past the raven, who dropped his arms and glared after him.

“Hey! That should've shocked you!”

“I've dealt with the flea before. I know your brain is fucked up.” The blond mumbled, pushing his hands into the pockets of his dress pants casually. “It's nothing new.”

Izaya huffed and rolled his eyes. “If you know what kind of person I am, then why do you like me, huh?”

When Shizuo ignored him, he just appeared in front of him, hovering in the air, their noses almost touching.

“Quit doing that!” The blond groaned and jumped back.

Izaya just smiled and moved closer again. “Tell me!”

Shizuo narrowed his eyes and reached out to pull one of his ears.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“You're annoying me.”

“That's not a reason!”

“It is for me. You should be glad this place lacks vending machines and street signs.” Shizuo laughed and grabbed the raven's shoulders to push him down to his feet again.

Surprisingly, Izaya complied and leaned his head to the side in question. “What?”

“Just forget about it.” The blond laughed and walked past him. “Come on! We'll never reach the castle if you keep annoying the shit out of me.”

Izaya ran after him quickly and took his hand once again. It should've been weird for Shizuo but it actually felt nice.

Shizuo had never really thought about finding someone to love. He had always been scared of hurting those around him so finding a partner seemed to be out of the question.

He had tried to hurt the flea so many times in the past and Izaya either didn't care or he really was that tough.

Whatever it was, maybe he was the only one able to survive being with Shizuo.


	10. Identity Crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating yesterday.   
> I know I never promised to post a chapter every day but I kind of hoped I would be able to.   
> Aaaaahh  
> Here it is.

As they reached the gate it opened immediately without anyone being around.

“How'd that work?” Shizuo asked as he looked up at it.

Izaya glanced at him. “Shizuo-chan, you're so silly.” He giggled and pulled him inside.

Both stopped briefly to take in their surroundings. It could only be described as beautiful.

A huge garden laid before them. Glowing flowers in white, pink and violet were moving in the wind. Thin trees shining in the same colours lined the way up to the castle. Even though it was still night, or probably morning, the garden was illuminated by the plants.

It was almost romantic.

Shizuo looked over to Izaya who fit into the picture perfectly with his glowing coat and, yes, he was ready to admit it, pretty face.

Izaya noticed his look and beamed. “Impressive, huh?” He asked and crouched down to look at the flowers. “I bet it took her the last hour to talk them into looking this beautiful again.”

“What?” Shizuo asked dumbly, not understanding a word.

The raven chuckled softly and got up again. “Plants need love too, you know. Without it, they just refuse to glow.”

“That's bullshit.”

“Well, did you ever glow because you felt loved? I don't think so.”

“Humans don't glow.”

Izaya rolled his eyes and looked up at the castle again. “Let's not waste any more time. She's probably waiting.”

Shizuo nodded and followed the other along the way lined by those shiny trees.

When they reached the few stairs leading up to the doors, they swung open and a beautiful woman looked down at them. She was wearing a white dress which almost seemed to flow down her body. Shizuo blinked a few times before he realised that the fabric of the dress actually did move like a small stream.

“I was worried sick.” The White Queen gasped and rushed down the stairs. Her white hair moved around her gracefully.

“I'm sorry. That was my fault.” Izaya said and looked away.

“Don't apologise. I'm just glad you got here in one piece.” She said softly and reached out to squeeze the raven's hands briefly before she turned to face Shizuo.

“And you must be Shizuo. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, catching him off guard as he just stood there frozen in place at the sudden attack.

“Uh, hello.” He stuttered, making her laugh as she drew back.

“I'm so sorry. I've never meet a human before.” She explained while leading them inside. “I know the stories but since I wasn't around...”

Izaya lowered his head at that but remained quiet. He was obviously still blaming himself for what had happened to her.

The worst part was that Shizuo couldn't even tell him that it wasn't because, as Izaya had said, he could've saved her anytime.

“Sorry! I'm such a bad host!” The White Queen suddenly gasped, turning to face them again. “I bet you're hungry, right?”

That made Shizuo look up. “Actually, yes. I'm starving.”

She nodded happily and lead them into a large dining room. The table was made out of glass, as were the chairs, the chandelier above their heads and basically most of the furniture.

Even though the white walls made it look cold, it was surprisingly warm inside.

“Please, sit down.” She told them happily. “I'll prepare something in no time.”

“What? No, don't...” Shizuo started but she was already running off.

Izaya looked after her without any emotion showing on his face.

“Doesn't she have like...people to cook for her?” The blond asked, only getting a shrug in return.

“Most of her followers are probably still hiding.” The raven sighed. “Or having an eternal tea party.”

Shizuo hummed and moved one of the chairs to sit down. The surface wasn't as hard and cold as it looked. It was pretty comfortable.

“She's a nice lady.” He said and leaned back. “Oh, I love this chair.”

He hadn't noticed his aching feet but at that moment, not using them was the best feeling in the world.

“She's too good.” Izaya sighed, still just standing there in the middle of the room. “I think I'm going to help her out.”

“You do that. I'll just be the lazy guest waiting for food.”

Izaya laughed softly at that. “You do that.”

Then he left the room to go find the White Queen.

  
  


~ ~ ~

  
  


The kitchen of the castle was located next to the dining room so it didn't take Izaya long to find their host again.

When he stepped into the room, The White Queen looked up from cutting up some glowing vegetables.

“Oh, hello. Is there anything you need?” She asked with a bright smile.

Izaya shook his head and glanced over to the large pot which probably already held some kind of stew. “Do you need any help?”

The White Queen finished her task and rushed over to the pot to throw the ingredients inside. “Not really.” She told him and reached for a large spoon to stir the contents. “But you can keep me company.”

The raven nodded and stepped closer. “I...” He started and bit his lip.

Izaya didn't know what he wanted to say. He still felt like apologising because he knew the whole mess was his fault.

However, as he had told Shizuo about his past, it hadn't felt right.

More like some story and not like events that had actually taken place.

He just didn't know what to think any more.

“You're thinking.” The White Queen said suddenly, bringing him back to reality.

“Yes” Was all he said.

“Want to talk about it?”

Izaya sighed and ran his hand across the surface of the kitchen counter. “I don't know. I think I still feel bad because of everything I did to you.”

She smiled sadly as she reached for a small basket filled with berries to arrange them on top of a delicious-looking cake. Izaya frowned. Where did she get that from?

“Please stop. You didn't do anything to me.”

He looked up from the cake again, searching her face but her smile was still genuine.

“I betrayed you. I let you rot in that dungeon.”

The White Queen put one of the berries in her mouth and chewed happily before shaking her head. “That wasn't you though.”

Izaya froze and stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

“You know I am not one to hold grudges but still, you are not the one who did these things to me, right?” She reached for another berry and leaned across the counter. “Izaya Orihara.”

The raven's mouth fell open. “H-how...”

“You are not who you seem to be but still you know who I am and what I can do. I know things. In this case that means, I know that you are not the Cheshire Cat, even though you appear to be.” Her eyes narrowed in thought. “Even though you think you are.”

Izaya lowered his head and stared at his shoes. “So what the Red Queen said is true.”

“I do not know what she told you but if I analyse the situation correctly, then you are a human who got pulled into Wonderland by mistake. Your conscious fused with one of us, absorbing their memories and loosing your own in the progress.”

Izaya grimaced. His head was starting to hurt.

So he wasn't the Cheshire Cat.

He wasn't a citizen of Wonderland at all.

He wasn't the one responsible for what had happened.

But he had those memories telling him who he had thought he was.

“I hate this.” He whispered, pulling his hair in frustration. “That's like you're saying I'm not me!”

Her smile was still soft as she watched his outburst. “You are not you.”

“Then who am I?!” Izaya cried.

The White Queen gasped and rushed to his side quickly, wrapping her arms around him and pulling his head against her chest like a mother would do.

“It's okay.” She tried to calm him. “This was bound to happen. The Rabbit shouldn't have tricked you into coming here as well. I told him it was a foolish idea but he wouldn't listen. He told me he found two humans who would be able to save us.” She sighed.

Izaya carefully struggled out of her grasp and took a deep breath. “The Rabbit, huh? I'd love to have a word with that guy.”

The White Queen's face lit up at that. “You can! He's here!”

Izaya's ears twitched at that. “He is?”

“Yes! Want me to go get him?”

He thought about it for a second. The Rabbit would be able to tell him about how he had turned into what he was.

That would make it real. He was already doubting himself but hearing it from someone who knew the truth was just too much.

Izaya kept searching for something that would prove who he was supposed to be. The person Shizuo saw in him.

All he found were fake memories of Wonderland.

They hadn't felt fake 24 hours ago.

“Izaya...” The White Queen said softly, searching his face. “I'm sorry. This probably sounds selfish.”

“W-what?” He stuttered as he tried to understand what she was saying.

“Do you think Shizuo can help us?”

He thought of the blond and a sad smile reached his face. Sure, he had seen him beat up those guards but that wasn't what made him certain that Shizuo was the right one for the job.

Izaya just knew that he was.

Shizuo wasn't a normal guy. He was barely human at all.

The smile turned into a frown.

How did he know that?

“He is probably the only one who can save Wonderland.” He mumbled eventually.

The White Queen wasn't convinced. Her face showed worry and fear. “But can he kill the Jabberwock?”

Izaya met her gaze. “The Jabberwock?” He asked, letting it run through his mind briefly. “That beast isn't a threat to him. Not at all.”

Again, the raven didn't know how he was so certain.

He just knew.

Shizuo could kill the Jabberwock.

The Queen nodded and smiled weakly. “Okay, I hope you're right. Killing the Jabberwock is the only way for the two of you to get back. And it needs to happen quickly. Otherwise, I can't promise you'll be the same as before.”

“It's not like I remember.” Izaya whispered and shrugged. “I wouldn't care.”

“Oh, but you should. You need to get back and you need to remember.”

“Why? From what Shizuo told me, I am a terrible person.”

The White Queen chuckled and reached for his hand. “You are not. Surely, you remember I only see the good in people and when I look at you I see curiosity, imagination, gentleness, love...”

“You're just making those up.” He groaned and pulled his hand away.

“I am not. Some traits still need to bloom but you're not the person you used to be. You know now. And you're not alone any more.”

“Don't even start.”

The look on her face almost broke his heart but he still refused to show what was going on inside him. “Shizuo will go back once the Jabberwock is dead.”

“And you're going with him.”

He sighed and crossed his arms. Going to the place he should call home seemed like a joke. Izaya didn't want to go there.

He didn't want to turn into a person Shizuo hated once again.

He feared the blond would just abandon him in case he wouldn't remember.

Maybe the world above was better off without him.

Maybe Shizuo was better off without him as well.

That way he would be able to find someone more fitting to be by his side. Someone who was gentle, loving and honest.

Someone who wasn't Izaya.

The Queen was still watching him with hope in her eyes. Izaya forced himself to smile at her. “Don't forget about your stew.” He told her and she gasped, quickly turning just as the dish was about to boil over.


	11. From Hate to Love

About twenty minutes later they were all seated at the glass table as the White Queen presented the stew he had made in the short time.

“I know it's not much but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer.” She sighed and placed the pot between them.

“Don't worry about it.” Shizuo told her and looked down at the bowl in front of him, which had appeared out of nowhere. Of course, it was made out of glass as well. He was even more impressed as the soup ladle inside the pot came to life and started to fill it up on its own.

Izaya across from his started to giggle at the blond's wide eyes. Soon his own plate was being filled with the dish as well.

The White Queen saw at the head of the table and beamed at them. “I hope you like it.”

Shizuo took the spoon, ready to dig in but he hesitated. “So this is not like...bad for me to eat, right?”

She blinked at him in confusion. “No? Why would it be?”

“It's not the Hatter's tea.” Izaya told him.

“Oh, the Hatter! How is he?” The Queen asked with a large smile.

Izaya swallowed and looked down at his food. “The Red Queen cursed him to be stuck in a never-ending loop. For him, it's always tea time and you know he can't skip that.”

“That's just terrible. When all of this is over, I shall make sure to break the curse.” She sighed sadly. “He was such a loyal friend.”

Shizuo just watched their conversation wordlessly as he ate, eyes wandering between them.

Izaya just moved his spoon around his dish half-heartedly.

“That probably killed the mood.” The Queen said eventually. “Let's talk about you.”

Shizuo froze and Izaya looked up at her.

“I see you two are quite close.” She stated with a smile.

At that, the two looked at each other. Izaya chuckled softly while Shizuo felt himself turn red.

“You could say so.” The raven mumbled eventually.

Shizuo decided on concentrating on his meal once again.

“Turning hate into love is the strongest kind of affection.” The Queen told them happily. “You'll know once you're back home.”

Izaya tensed up at her words. He knew she was mostly talking to him.

“Yeah, about that.” Shizuo started after putting down the spoon inside his now empty bowl. “How do we get back?”

She locked eyes with Izaya for a second before facing the blond again. “We already talked about this and Izaya thinks you'll be able to complete the task to do so.”

“Which would be?”

“You'll have to kill the Red Queen's monster. The Jabberwock.”

Shizuo raised an eyebrow at her and leaned back in the chair. “A monster, huh?” He asked and glanced to Izaya, who was looking away. “When it's dead we can leave?”

The White Queen nodded at that. “Exactly.”

“Both of us?”

“Yes”

“Good, then let's do it.” He stretched and got up. “Where is that thing?”

The Queen chuckled at his enthusiasm. “I admire your motivation but you should rest for now. The Red Queen will notice my absence soon. She will come to us.”

Shizuo huffed and crossed his arms. “What about Izaya's memories? We can't loose any time.”

“This is going to be a tough fight. Please believe me when I say that you should be well-rested for it. You need your weapon anyway.”

He frowned at that. “My weapon?”

“Yes, the vorpal blade.”

“What's that?”

Suddenly, Izaya spoke up, making both the others turn their heads to look at him. “The vorpal blade is a weapon only a human can wield. It's also the only thing able to kill the Jabberwock.”

Shizuo groaned and scratched the back of his head. “So I need to kill that monster with a special blade. Great.”

“No need to worry about this now.” The Queen told him. “I have a room for you prepared upstairs so you can spend the night here and tomorrow we decide what to do.”

She observed Shizuo's face before locking eyes with Izaya again, who was just finishing his meal.

“That's okay, I guess. I am kind of tired.” The blond sighed.

“Perfect!” The Queen cheered and clapped her hands together. “But first you need to try some cake!”

Shizuo hesitated but slowly sat down again.

A piece of cake on a glass plate appeared in front of him. It was covered in strange berries but since the stew had tasted normal, he just started eating it.

So he had to kill a beast with a probably magical blade and then they'd be able to go home.

Sounded easy enough.

Right?

  
  


~ ~ ~

  
  


“I hope this is okay.” The Queen said as she opened the door to their room.

It was white, just like everything else. Only the bed frame seemed to be made out of dark wood, holding a cosy-looking mattress covered in pillows.

“This is fine. Thank you.” Shizuo told her.

She beamed and stepped forward to wrap her arms around both of them. “I'm so glad you are here. Wonderland will be a better place again thank to you two.”

Shizuo patted her back awkwardly and Izaya just stood there, waiting for the hug to be over.

She let them go eventually and sighed happily. “I'll leave you alone now but please don't hesitate to look for me in case you need anything. You are my guests after all. That's the least I can do.”

Both nodded and mumbled a 'Yes' before she left.

Shizuo went over to the bed and let himself fall onto the covers face-forward. Izaya shut the door and looked over to the other.

“Is it okay if we sleep in one bed?” He asked carefully.

Shizuo turned his head to face him and chuckled. “Sure, why not?”

Izaya shrugged and sat next to him. “Just asking.”

The blond frowned and turned onto his back. “What is it? Ever since we arrived here you seemed...off.”

“How so?”

“I don't know. What happened to that annoying guy asking me all kinds of stupid questions.”

The raven smiled softly and shrugged. “I guess I'm just tired.”

“Sure, if you say so.”

Shizuo sighed and put an arm under his head, staring up at the ceiling in thought. He really just wanted to go home already, not fight some dumb beast before being able to do so. Frustration rose inside him yet again at the thought.

Eventually Izaya started taking off his coat, making the blond turn his head to watch him.

“What are you doing?” Shizuo asked.

“Getting ready for bed, obviously.”

“It's probably almost morning.”

“Yeah, so?”

Izaya folded it neatly and placed it on top of a nearby chair before taking his shoes off as well. He crawled under the covers and pulled them up to his chin.

“Sleeping in a bed is the best.” He sighed happily and shut his eyes.

“Please don't tell me you've been sleeping in the trees or some shit.”

The raven chuckled softly. “How'd you know?”

“Oh God...”

Izaya opened his eyes again and looked to the other. “Actually, I haven't. Those aren't my memories. I probably have a bed at home, right?”

Shizuo raised an eyebrow at the question. “I guess.”

Silence settled around them after that and after a few minutes Izaya turned his back to Shizuo, probably trying to fall asleep.

The blond watched as those fuzzy ears twitched. For some reason he had the urge to reach out and pet the other's head. He just had a thing for cats.

The thought had crossed his mind a few times already but at that moment he gave up on trying to ignore it so he slowly moved closer and hesitantly reached out.

Izaya didn't seem to notice until a hand started running through his hair. He froze and his eyes widened.

“Shizu-chan...” He mumbled.

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

“I have no idea.”

At first Izaya was tense but Shizuo didn't stop, occasionally scratching the base of his ears. It took him a while to get used to it but eventually he managed to relax and actually enjoy it.

“You'll change back to normal once we're home, right?” Shizuo asked quietly.

“Yes”

“Too bad.” The blond laughed. “Maybe we can get Shinra to put kitty ears on you again.”

Izaya didn't know what to say to that so he turned to face the other, the covers pulled up to his lips. Shizuo was rolling strands of his black hair around his finger, his eyes seemed far away.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Izaya asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“What is?”

“Continuing this...whatever it is once we're back.”

Shizuo frowned at him and pulled one ear slightly. “Of course. Why?”

Izaya shrugged and finally shook his hand off, leaving it hovering in the air for a few seconds before it dropped down between them.

“Just because we get along now, doesn't mean we will when things go back to normal.” The raven whispered.

Shizuo watched him with an unreadable expression on his face. “Dumb flea.” He groaned and reached out, wrapping an arm around Izaya to pull him closer. He expected the body in his grip to tense up and struggle but to his surprise Izaya buried his face in Shizuo's chest and said nothing. Not a single word of protest.

“I may not be the smartest man, but I think I know what keeps running through your head.” The blond started. “You're probably doubting yourself and me and just everything. Stop it. That's stupid. Even if you won't remember. I will and like I said, hell, I even promised, I will win your heart again.”

Izaya slowly lifted his head, looking up at Shizuo with wide eyes.

How'd he know?

Did the White Queen say something?

No, she wouldn't.

“I...” He mumbled and lowered his gaze again. “What makes you think you already won my heart?” Izaya asked instead of voicing any of the things occupying his mind. He chuckled and poked the blond's chest.

“Oh, please. Don't you dare try to fool me. You're head over heals for me.”

“I am not! You just started petting me! If someone's head over heals, it's you!” Izaya argued as he started to struggled in a weak attempt to get out of the other's strong grasp.

“Stop it, flea. I'm trying to sleep.” Shizuo told him with a fake yawn. He only tightened his grip.

Izaya gasped and glared up at him. “Oh, now you want to sleep?”

“Yes, this is comfortable.”

The blond's eyes were closed and he only moved closer, burying his face in Izaya's hair, who huffed and shook his head slightly. “Get a cat if you're so desperate.”

“Why? I have you.”

Izaya sighed and gave up, letting Shizuo use him for warmth and comfort and soon his breathing evened out.

The raven wished sleep would come to him as well.

He didn't know what to do any more.

Izaya wanted to go with Shizuo.

There was nothing he wanted more.

He wanted to get his memories back and see Shizuo try to win his heart, as he had said.

But something about wanting that seemed wrong. Like he didn't deserve it at all.

As Shizuo groaned in his sleep and put a leg over Izaya, he was pulled back to reality.

Maybe Shizuo was right and he was just thinking too much.

With that in mind he took in the blond's scent and smiled. He listened to the other's steady heartbeat. It seemed to push every negative thought away immediately.

“I hope you won't regret this.” Izaya whispered before he felt himself being pulled into the blackness that was sleep.


	12. The Rabbit

“I am so sorry for waking you but this can't wait!”

Izaya, who was partially lying on top of Shizuo, jerked awake and almost fell off, but the blond groaned and wrapped his arms around him before rolling over onto his side, away from the sudden disturbance.

The raven blinked up at him in confusion, trying to analyse the situation.

Right, they had fallen asleep together after having a midnight snack with the White Queen at her castle.

He slowly lifted his head to peek over the man holding him.

The White Queen was standing in the door, still holding onto the doorknob. Her usually soft features showed panic and desperation.

Izaya blushed and tried to untangle himself from Shizuo but the blond refused to let him go.

“Shizu-chan!” He pleaded and started struggling once more. “Wake up already. This is important.”

“I don't care. Shut up and go back to sleep.”

The White Queen slowly stepped further into the room. “The Knave of Hearts was here with a message from the Red Queen.” She said as she stopped in front of the bed.

Shizuo slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. He finally realised what was going on and sat up quickly, pushing Izaya off in the process.

“Sorry!” He stammered.

The White Queen's eyes moved from Shizuo to Izaya and a soft smile crossed her face for a second before disappearing again. “Don't worry about it. We need to get you ready though. The Red Queen wants to meet you on the chess field in a few hours.”

“What? Why?”

Izaya sat up again and scratched the back of his head. “Probably to feed you to the Jabberwock.”

Shizuo glanced at him and frowned but when the Queen just remained silent, he swallowed nervously. “Uh, okay...”

“Could you come downstairs as soon as possible?” She asked desperately and he just nodded. “Thank you”

With that she left, leaving them to stare at the door.

“So this is really happening, huh? I'm going to fight some beast.” Shizuo groaned and pushed the covers back to get up.

Izaya sat on his legs, watching him curiously. “Don't worry about it. You can do it.”

“It's not like I doubt it but it's going to be a real pain.”

The raven hummed and yawned, showing off those cat-like teeth. It still fascinated Shizuo to see him like that.

“Just be careful of its bite.” Izaya added and jumped off the bed gracefully to put his shoes and coat on.

“Huh?”

“The Jabberwock's teeth carry a special kind of poison. It paralyses you until your lungs stop working and you die.”

Shizuo stared at him wide-eyed. “Oh, you mention that now?” He barked. “Seriously? I thought most things here are a big joke. That's a bit...too real.”

Izaya straightened his coat and chuckled quietly. “Really, Shizu-chan? You think all of this is a joke?”

“Well, not any more.”

Suddenly, the raven stood right in front of him. “So don't let it bite you.” He purred and placed his palm against the other's chest. “We don't want that heart to stop beating.”

Shizuo watched him and even though his words should've triggered a different reaction, he felt himself calm down under the touch.

“You seem really confident about this. How do you know I even stand a chance?” He asked.

Izaya shrugged and dropped his hand again. “I just know. There's nothing you can't do.” With that he turned around and went out the door.

The blond looked after him.

And yet again, this version of Izaya surprised him.

A blush tinted his cheeks a dark shade of red as he followed slowly.

  
  


~ ~ ~

  
  


“So this is the vorpal blade, huh?” Shizuo groaned and crossed his arms as they looked down at the weapon placed on a white pillow inside a heavy-looking chest. “Looks like a big kitchen knife.”

And it did. The handle was made out of dark wood and looked old. The blade held beautiful carvings of flowers which seemed to glow a light shade of blue.

“Don't underestimate it. When it is used in fight, its form will chance to one fitting its wielder so once you plan on using it against the Jabberwock, it will try its best to help you.” The White Queen explained.

Shizuo still wasn't impressed. He dropped his arms and sighed. “So can I take it? What will happen if I do?”

“Sure. It's not like one of us can lift it anyway.” She laughed. “Right now, nothing should happen.”

The blond reached for the handle, carefully picking it up. The carvings lit up for a second before going back to glowing faintly but other than that, it didn't react. “What do you mean, you can't lift it?”

“We simply can't. Only a human can use it.”

Izaya looked from the Queen to Shizuo and smirked. “Let me try!” He pleaded but the other turned away quickly.

“Like hell I'll allow you to have a knife.”

The raven pouted but Shizuo just glared at him over his shoulder.

“Shizu-chan, you're no fun.” He whined and poked his tongue out while the other opened his suit jacket to carefully but the blade away. As he did so, it seemed to shrink to fit in better.

The White Queen coughed to get their attention again. “There are a few more things you should know before you try to beat the Jabberwock.”

“I'll have to be careful to not let it bite me. I know that already.” Shizuo told her with a quick wave of his hand.

“Oh” She nodded and forced a smile. “Great. That's not the only thing though.” She took a deep breath. “In case you actually manage to chop its head off, which is the only way of killing it, the portal bringing you back will most likely appear immediately so there won't be any time.”

“Oh, I need to cut its head off as well? Anything else? Do I have to take it out for dinner first?” Shizuo mumbled, rolling his eyes. “And we'll get back after killing it. What's the big deal?”

“You need to be quick. Those portals disappear quickly again.” The White Queen glanced over to Izaya, who was pretending to not listen. “You won't be able to say goodbye.”

“Okay, so...” The blond thought about what to say before opening his mouth again. “In case I won't get a chance to say it again. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it and I hope you'll get your Wonderland back.”

She smiled and for a second Shizuo thought he saw a hint of sadness in those eyes but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “You're welcome. Don't worry about it.”

An uncomfortable silence surrounded them after that until a noise made them look up.

“My dearest Queen!” The Rabbit jumping into the room whined. He stopped in front of the White Queen, who crouched down to pet hiss head. “We need to hurry!”

“I know.” She said softly. “I will prepare everything for our journey.”

The Rabbit nodded, his eyes following her as she rushed out of the room. As he turned to look up at the other two again, he was met with a death glare by Shizuo.

“You're the one who brought us here!” He barked and stomped towards the small creature.

The Rabbit didn't seem scared in the least though as he just jumped past the aggressive blond, stopping in front of Izaya who looked down at him with raised eyebrows. “My apologies to you.” He said and lowered his head. “My Queen knew of the dangers of bringing two heroes but I refused to listen as my land is very much important to me.”

Izaya rolled his eyes. “Please just leave me alone. You've caused enough trouble as it is.”

The Rabbit raised his head again and his ears twitched. “You are not accepting my apology?”

The raven said nothing and turned away.

“If it weren't for your levels of intelligence and manipulating abilities concerning the interaction with other creatures, I would never have brought you here!” The creature hissed, making crimson eyes glare at him. “I should have known you were up to no good once you raised that cleaning utensil against me!”

Both flinched as Shizuo burst into a fit of laughter. “H-he did what?!”

The Rabbit turned to raise his gaze towards the blond. “When I arrived to fetch him, he started screaming and reached for a broom! I barely managed to jump out of the way as he tried to squash me with it.”

That just made Shizuo laugh harder. Izaya watched him in confusion. “What's so funny?”

“You...you were scared of a rabbit and tried to kill him? That is just hilarious.”

“It is not. Stop it.”

“And you screamed? Fucking hell, the flea screamed because of a tiny little rabbit.” Shizuo laughed, gasping for air in between.

Izaya rolled his eyes and crouched down to face the Rabbit once more. “What happened then? I obviously didn't manage to crush you.”

The animal shook his head wildly. “No, you did not. I am faster than that.” He sat back on his hind legs and looked up at Izaya. “So it is true. Your memories were lost.”

The raven just nodded.

“The large mirror in your bedroom. I had planned to use it to get back and so it had turned into another portal. I didn't even have to talk you into walking through. Once you saw it and its unnatural-looking surface, you stepped right through.”

Izaya frowned and locked eyes with Shizuo, who just shrugged.

“On the other hand, the looking glass does possess mesmerizing abilities towards weaker souls.” The Rabbit thought out loud.

“Excuse you? Did you just say I'm weak?” Izaya hissed and got up.

“I said your soul is weak. There is a big difference, you dumb feline creature.”

“You take that back right now!”

“I will not for it is the truth.”

Izaya bared his teeth and reached out to grab the animal. “That's it! You'll make a fine snack!”

Before he managed to get a hold of the Rabbit though, Shizuo grabbed him from behind.

“Enough.” The blond groaned as he pulled him against his chest. “Stop arguing with a rabbit.”

The animal let out a mocking laugh before fleeing from the room.

“Shizu-chan! Let me go!” Izaya protested as he struggled against the other's grip.

“No”

He kept trying to escape for a while longer before simply giving up and going limp. “You dumb protozoan.”

“I didn't even do anything.”

“I don't care!”

Shizuo turned him by pulling on his shoulder so they were facing each other. “It's not worth it. In no time, we can go back home. Just try to keep that in mind, okay?” He smiled down at Izaya who lowered his head.

“I guess you're right.”

Shizuo observed the other's unsure expression and put a finger under his chin, forcing those crimson eyes onto him again. “Try being an optimist for once.”

The raven huffed and tried to turn his head away but Shizuo was faster, covering his lips with his own in a short but sweet kiss.

As he pulled back again, Izaya observed him wide-eyed. “Shizu-chan...”

“Yes?”

“Remember that promise you gave me once we get back.”

The blond chuckled softly and pulled him closer, placing another kiss on his forehead. “Stupid flea...thinking I'd forget.”


	13. The Jabberwock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God. It took me all day to write this since people kept disturbing me ughhhh  
> It's finally finished and I hope it's okay.   
> Usually I'm not one to write action stuff but I think I did a pretty good job.   
> Now have fun :D

The journey to their destination took them only about one hour, despite what the White Queen had said about it being a long way. She also chose a pretty normal way to travel as they got there by horse carriage.

Shizuo was still glad to get out of that wobbly thing once it stopped.

“That was fun but let's not do it again.” He groaned and stretched after being stuck in such a small space for an hour.

“Aw, Shizu-chan.” Izaya giggled, jumping to his side. “Didn't you enjoy being close to me?”

“You fell asleep after ten minutes.”

The White Queen laughed and walked past them. “Shizuo couldn't take his eyes off you.”

The blond glared after her and huffed. Izaya smirked up at him but remained silent.

“So...” Shizuo started to change the subject. “What is the plan?”

The White Queen glanced at him over her shoulder and motioned for them to follow. She lead them away from the carriage and through a sick-looking stony terrain.

“You know, this area used to be full of life. There was a small village. Many loyal citizens lived here.” She explained and lowered her head.

Shizuo watched her back, waiting for her to continue when Izaya reached for his hand to get his attention.

“The Jabberwock killed them all and ravaged the village.” He mumbled sadly.

The blond blinked in shock. “That's terrible.”

Suddenly, the White Queen turned around to face them, a warm smile on her face. “But now all of this will come to an end.”

Shizuo swallowed and nodded. “I'll try my best.”

They kept walking for about ten minutes until a large structure came into view. When the White Queen had told him they would meet at a chess field, he expected anything but not an actual gigantic game of chess. The ground was covered with square stones in either black or white. Large chess figures were littering the place, some broken or tipped over.

“Of course it's an actual chess board.” Shizuo chuckled. He actually started getting used to Wonderland's randomness.

He observed his surroundings further and frowned when the ground disappeared next to the black and white stones. Shizuo took a few steps forward until he realised that the edge of the chess board was void of solid ground. He reached the edge and looked over it. Down the cliff, he saw nothing, no ground. There wasn't any mist that would hide the abyss from view. There was just nothing there. Like a blank piece of paper.

“This is kind of disturbing.” He gasped and stepped back again.

“You actually showed up.” A high-pitched voice called and Shizuo looked up to see the Red Queen stand on the other side of the board. The White Queen and Izaya both shot glares at her.

The red-haired woman only had eyes for Izaya though. “Hello traitor.” She hissed. “I hope you feel good with yourself. I can't wait for you to switch sides yet again.”

The raven looked away. “That's not gonna happen.”

“Like anyone's gonna believe that.”

The White Queen stepped forward to shield Izaya from their enemy's view. “You're not here to throw insults at us, now are you?”

The Red Queen seemed surprised at the other's bluntness for a second before she smirked, shaking her head. That was when a whole army of card soldiers started appearing in the distance behind her, lead on by the Knave of Hearts.

The White Queen narrowed her eyes at that while Izaya still refused to look up. Shizuo finally stepped to their side again. “She brought the playing cards? What for?”

“She just wants to intimidate us.”

Shizuo crossed his arms and watched the large crowd with raised eyebrows. “And where's that Jabberwock thing?”

“Oh, he's nearby.”

He looked down at the White Queen, who glanced around with wide eyes.

“You look scared.” The Red Queen laughed across the field. “You better be!”

Suddenly, the ground started to shake beneath them. Stones cracked and figured fell over.

“The fuck is happening now?” Shizuo growled and glared at the Red Queen. A large manic smile was covering her face as she watched their reactions.

“It's time my dearest Jabberwocky gets his fine meal.” She laughed just as a large shadow rushed out of the abyss Shizuo had looked down at just minutes ago.

The creature crashed down onto the chess board, destroying the ground underneath carelessly as it let out an ear-piercing screech.

The only word coming to Shizuo's mind at the sight of that thing was 'ugly'. It's bodily structure was basically the one of a mystical dragon with dark grey scales covering the skin and two bat-like wings growing out of its back. The front claws seemed to be covered in a mix of fur and feathers.

Its appearance was okay to look at up to that point. What made Shizuo want to topple over and empty his stomach's contents though, was its head. Large milky eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Thin strings, which were probably meant for feeling its surroundings, grew between the scales above them. The worst was its mouth though. Two flat front teeth, similar to a rabbit's, poked out of its jaw, accompanied by two sharp canine teeth. Its gums looked rotten and Shizuo was sure if this beast was to roar directly in his face, he would pass out because of the smell.

Eventually, the Jabberwock's long and thin neck caught his attention. It shouldn't be too hard to cut through it.

“Shizuo, it's time to pull your weapon.” The White Queen told him, making him freeze for a moment before he pulled the small blade out of his pocket.

He was about to complain, when the carvings of the blade started to glow brightly, almost blinding him.

“The fuck?” He hissed, narrowing his eyes.

The structure of the blade changed, growing bigger and longer in size as it transformed.

The Jabberwock let out a gurgling noise and Shizuo glared at the creature before observing the weapon in his hand once the blinding light stopped.

“Is this for real?!” He groaned as he looked up at the spear-like thing in his hand. The long handle was made of steel and at the top sat a large red stop sign, although it looked slightly different with its sharpened edges.

The White Queen actually looked impressed as she looked up at the blade. Izaya just frowned at it though.

“Why does it say 'STOP'?” He asked.

“We are so not talking about this.” Shizuo growled before taking a deep breath and stepping towards the Jabberwock.

The beast roared, sending drops of spit the blond's way, who grimaced in disgust.

“You're one ugly motherfucker.”

The Jabberwock sat back on its hind legs and screeched at the sky. Shizuo grabbed the handle of his weapon with both hands and pointed it at the creature. Although he usually just attacked without a second thought, he didn't know what to do.

The decision was taken from him when the dragon-like monster lowered its head and one large claw rushed towards him.

Shizuo jumped back, almost loosing his footing in the process. He stumbled, gripping the handle tighter.

“Alright, now I'm getting angry.” He groaned and narrowed his eyes before haphazardly charging forward, aiming for the beast's chest. To his surprise the blade barely left a cut at all as it hit one of the thick scales.

The Jabberwock let out a weird chuckling noise and raised its claw again, but Shizuo was prepared that time, as he jumped across it. The monster was trying to adjust again and the blond used those few seconds to rush forward and jump into the air, grabbing onto its neck with one arm.

A demonic growl echoed through the air as the Jabberwock tried to shake him off. Shizuo almost fell but managed to get a grip on one of the scales. He was barely able to hold on and as he was thrown around wildly, the scale started to come loose.

“Shizu-chan! Get off!” He heard Izaya yell in panic and as Shizuo looked down, trying to get his orientation back, he noticed the ground was far away.

It took him a few seconds to realise that the creature was using its thin wings to lift them into the air.

“Fuck!” Shizuo yelled and lifted his weapon, trying to get a good grip with it. It actually managed to get stuck beneath some scales and he tried to pull himself up onto its back by it.

Once he was seated in front of the moving wings, Shizuo looked down. The White Queen and Izaya were barely still visible, looking more like ants.

When he raised his gaze again, two white eyes were staring at him and a set of teeth came dangerously close to him. He jumped back as the Jabberwock tried to bite him, but managed to get away, the monster missing by mere centimetres.

“Alright, that's it.” Shizuo hissed and kicked at the head, hitting its eye with his food. The creature cried out. It was a shrill sound that made the blond's blood freeze.

His jaw tightened as he turned around on its back, the bat-like wings right in front of him. It was a stupid idea and he knew it but before he could think about it, Shizuo raised the weapon and slashed across them, ripping them in half.

The next demonic cry was way to close and then a sharp pain in his shoulder made Shizuo bark several obscenities. Before he could check the force behind it, he was lifted off the Jabberwock's back by the sudden lack of gravity and then he was flying through the air, the weight getting off his shoulder as he was falling.

He heard desperate calls beneath him and recognised his name. Briefly, his mind was blank, before he noticed the situation he was in.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit...” Shizuo chanted as he managed to turn in the air, just as he was about to hit the ground. His body met the stone with incredible force and his ears started ringing. When he managed to open his eyes again, he saw deep cracks underneath him. His body seemed to be intact though.

A shadow hovered over him and Shizuo tried to lift his head but found he wasn't able to.

“Shizu-chan!” He heard Izaya whine above him. “Please tell me that isn't a bite!”

The blond frowned as he recalled the pain in his shoulder. “I-I...don't know.” He slurred, his body starting to get numb.

“He was bitten!” Izaya cried.

“Then all is lost.” The broken voice of the White Queen could be heard in the distance.

Izaya didn't move though as he looked down at Shizuo, who groaned, desperate to get up again but his body refused to comply.

Nearby the Jabberwock was getting back on its feet, moving its head through the air ungracefully. Soon it stopped, apparently ready to finish its prey off as it stomped closer, letting out disgusting yelps.

Izaya looked up at it, then down at Shizuo and eventually over to the weapon a few metres away, which had just turned back into the small blade.

“Izaya! Get away from there!” The White Queen yelled anxiously but the raven ignored her as he jumped to his feet quickly, rushing over to the blade within seconds.

The Jabberwock stopped, looking from Shizuo to Izaya, apparently contemplating on who to charge at first.

Izaya took a deep breath as he crouched down to grab the handle. He expected it to weigh him down but he gripped it and raised it easily, pointing the blade at the creature and slowly stepping back to where Shizuo was still on the ground.

Izaya stood in front of him protectively. The Jabberwock let out a deep growl and pushed his claws into the ground angrily.

The raven looked down at Shizuo. “Please don't die.” He pleaded before facing his enemy again. As he did so, the blade in his grip started to glow, just as it had done once Shizuo had planned to use it against the beast. It changed its form, growing longer.

The vorpal blade wasn't the only thing changing though. Izaya looked down at himself and gasped. The same glow was surrounding his form.

A sharp pain shot through his head and he cried out, dropping to his knees.

Memories rushed through his head, almost forcing him down onto the ground completely.

Everything came back to him at once.

Ikebukuro.

His home.

Familiar faces.

Shinra, Celty, Namie, his sisters...

Shizuo.

Izaya whimpered and pulled his hair with his free hand.

He remembered.

He remembered everything.

The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started.

Izaya gasped and looked down at himself again. His coat was back to normal, as was the rest of his outfit. Even the tail that had been moving around his legs for the last few days was gone, as were probably the ears.

He was back to normal.

His sight fell onto the weapon still in his hand. It had a long handle, just like the stop sign, but at the top was a large curved blade. It looked like a scythe with a slight resemblance to his usual pocket knife.

A smirk crossed his face as he got up onto his feet again. “What a pleasant surprise.” Izaya purred and looked up at the Jabberwock. The creature was watching him almost calmly but at the raven's words it snapped out of its trance and screeched.

Izaya forced himself to not flinch back at the noise. Instead he his eyes found the spot where Shizuo had managed to loosen the scale at the monster's neck. Its head was still raised as he cried out, swinging the scythe in his hands with as much force as possible. The sharp tip hit the right spot but the blade only went in about halfway.

It seemed to be enough to puncture a main artery though, as a dark gooey liquid started to splash out of the wound. The raven tried to back away, but the Jabberwock started thrashing around, pulling the weapon still stuck in his flesh, and the person attached to it, with him.

Izaya groaned as the dark substance covered him as he rushed through the air. Suddenly, the scythe slid free and he fell to the ground, hitting his forehead hard.

“Shit” He croaked, shutting his eyes tightly for a moment. Sharp pain stung in his head but he forced himself to get up onto his knees.

“Watch out!” The White Queen called and he looked up just in time to see a claw rush towards him.

Izaya was thankful for all of the experience he had earned during his fights with Shizuo. Otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to jump out of the way in time.

He stumbled as his foot got stuck on the remains of one of the chess figures and he fell onto his back.

In no time the Jabberwock was above him, one claw placed at his chest, the sharp tips piercing his shirt and chest underneath. The pain made Izaya cry out and glare up, seeing those teeth and slithery tongue move towards him.

He tried to raise his weapon but all of his strength was drained from his body at once.

So that was it.

He would end up as the monster's dinner.

Izaya shut his eyes, waiting for some kind of pain, but nothing happened.

He frowned.

He had expected death to be more painful than that.

A loud gurgling sound made him open his eyes again.

Shizuo stood above him, his hands grabbing onto the Jabberwock's jaw, holding it back with sheer force. The blond looked terrible. His skin pale, sweat dripping down his forehead and dark circles under his eyes.

And yet he managed to come up with the same amount of strength as this monster.

“Izaya!” He growled and the raven stopped staring. “Do it now!”

Izaya flinched, looking down at the claws embed into his chest. It still hurt but the adrenaline pulsing through his veins turned it into a dull throb. He used his free hand to reach into his coat pocket, pulling his pocket knife out. He flicked it open and pushed it between two scales between the limb's toes.

The claw flinched away and the Jabberwock tried to move back, but Shizuo growled and pulled its jaw closer, holding it in place.

“Cut the head off! Now!”

Izaya jumped to his feet, wiping the creature's dark blood off his face. Then he tightened his grip on the scythe again and swung it back.

With as much force as possible he let it cut through the air, hitting the same spot on the Jabberwock's neck again. Once it was stuck in its flesh again and the beast flinched back, Shizuo let it go and stepped to the raven's side, gripping the weapon's handle as well.

Izaya looked up at him. The blond's grimace showed determination as he started to move the scythe.

The blade ripped through the Jabberwock's neck with a disgusting sound.

The only noise was made by the large head tumbling to the ground and the body following as well, the crash echoing through the air.

Both Izaya and Shizuo were panting. They let go of the weapon and it turned back into the vorpal blade before hitting the ground.

“We did it.” Shizuo gasped, staring down at the Jabberwock's unmoving head before finally facing Izaya. “Wait, what happened?” He looked the raven up and down. “You're back to normal.”

The other didn't react and when Izaya's eyes rolled back and his feet gave out, Shizuo reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around him to hold him upright.

Shizuo looked up desperately as the White Queen approached them.

“What's wrong?” He asked her anxiously.

“The vorpal blade reversed his state but since its power stopped working now that the Jabberwock is dead, he probably can't hold himself upright on his own. You need to leave immediately.” She explained with wide eyes.

Shizuo looked down at the limp body in his arms. Somewhere behind him he could hear the Red Queen scream in frustration but he ignored it.

Suddenly, a light beside him caught his attention and when he turned his head he saw a pool of the Jabberwock's blood which started to shine.

“I-is that it?” He asked.

The White Queen opened her mouth to speak when another figure appeared before him.

“That would be your way out, yes.”

Shizuo blinked at the floating black and violet cat in front of him. The animal grinned, sharp teeth showing.

“You're the real Cheshire Cat.” He gasped.

It nodded. “I am indeed. It is good to be back.”

“Shizuo! There is no time!” The White Queen told him and started pushing him into the direction of the light. “We will forever be thankful for what you've done. Now you need to think of yourself and Izaya.”

Shizuo stumbled forward and lifted Izaya up properly in his arms. He stopped in front of the light and looked over his shoulder. “Thank you. I'm glad we were able to help.”

Both the White Queen and Cheshire Cat smiled at him and motioned for him to go on.

“Goodbye!” Shizuo called before stepping into the pool of the creature's blood.

Light surrounded him and he tightened his grip on Izaya before it faded and everything went black.


	14. Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter. You're probably going to hate me after this heh  
> I just want to thank all of you for reading this   
> I can't believe I actually went through with that stupid idea :D  
> By the way, in case you're interested in the song which inspired me to write this, listen to   
> Wonderland by Taylor Swift.   
> Just do it  
> It fits so well :3  
> Now have fun with the last part

Shizuo jerked awake and sat up, panting heavily.

First, he checked himself and frowned when he wasn't wearing that weird blue suit any more. He wasn't wearing his usual bartender attire either. Instead he was dressed in a hospital gown.

“What?” He mumbled and lifted his head to check his surroundings.

He was in a hospital room. Next to him, a heart monitor beeped steadily and he lifted his hand to see the device on his finger tracking his heart beat.

Surely, the beeping started to get faster and as he was still trying to understand what was going on, the door opened and a man in white walked in. He was most likely a doctor.

“Someone's awake.” He said with a wide smile and reached for the clipboard hanging off the edge of the bed.

Shizuo stared at him for a few seconds. “Why am I here?”

The doctor stopped reading and stepped over to the heart monitor. “You fell down into the sewer and hit your head. You're lucky someone saw you and called for help.”

The blond frowned and scratched the back of his head, only to wince in pain.

“We stitched you up nicely. Don't worry.” The doctor told him.

Shizuo huffed and pushed the covers back. He was confused. Had Wonderland just been a dream?

But it all had felt so real.

“How long was I out for?” He asked while getting off the bed and stretching his back.

“Almost three days.”

Three days. That was pretty much how much time he had spent in Wonderland.

Shizuo groaned and reached for his clothes which were folded neatly and placed on a table nearby. Then suddenly he froze with his arm hanging in the air.

“Izaya Orihara. Is he here?” He asked the doctor, who seemed confused at the sudden question.

The man narrowed his eyes as if not sure what to make of it. “Why do you want to know?”

“Is he here or not?” Shizuo hissed and stomped closer to the doctor, who lifted his hands helplessly.

“He is, but how do you know?”

“Where?”

“I am not allowed to...”

“Where is he?” The blond growled and grabbed the man's collar.

“Down the hall, last room on the right.”

Shizuo shook the doctor once and let go to get dressed quickly.

“Uhm, sir. We need to check if you're okay before you can leave.”

“Shut up.”

Once he was wearing his bartender uniform again, Shizuo felt a bit better with himself. The doctor watched with wide eyes as he left the room and went down the hall. Nurses jumped out of his way anxiously.

The door to said room stood open as one of them was currently checking the monitors.

Shizuo stepped inside and his eyes fell onto the figure on the bed.

It really was Izaya, but he looked terrible. His skin was almost as pale as the sheets, his hair looked wild and unwashed and his heartbeat was too slow for Shizuo's liking.

When the nurse turned around and noticed the man standing in the door, she flinched.

“C-can I help you?” She stuttered and stepped back as Shizuo stepped closer.

“How'd he get here?” He asked calmly.

The woman blinked a few times before looking down at Izaya. She bit her lip, most likely contemplating about whether to tell him the truth.

“His assistant found him passed out in his apartment.” She explained softly.

Shizuo nodded and stopped beside the bed. He just wanted to grab him and make a run for it but that wouldn't be very smart considering he should've woken up already.

“Dumb flea.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “Wake up already.”

The nurse approached him carefully. “I doubt he will anytime soon. His condition got worse since he arrived here.”

“He will wake up.” Shizuo mumbled stubbornly.

The woman sighed and watched him for a few more minutes before leaving the room.

Shizuo didn't know what to do so he simply stood there and watched Izaya.

Wonderland hadn't been a dream. He was sure of it.

If anything they had shared the same dream.

Whatever it was, he didn't care as long as Izaya would wake up and remember.

Shizuo needed him to remember.

He wasn't sure for how long he had been standing there when Izaya's heartbeat started getting faster and his hand flinched under the covers.

The blond watched calmly while the other woke up and once those crimson eyes opened slowly, Shizuo couldn't hold himself back any longer. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Izaya, who froze in shock.

“S-Shizu-chan?” The raven croaked before coughing pathetically a few times.

Shizuo let go of him and spotted Izaya's clothes in a corner. He got them and threw them at the bed. “Get dressed. We're leaving right now.”

Izaya frowned as he was still trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually he slowly got out of the bed to get dressed.

He just finished putting his coat on, when Shizuo grabbed his hand to pull him out of the room.

“Hey! Shizu-chan! Wait!”

Izaya stopped walking and tried to force Shizuo to do the same. Eventually the blond groaned and turned around only to flinch back when a swift movement cut his vest open. He stumbled back, looking down at the ruined piece of clothing.

“Flea!” He hissed and raised his gaze. “What was that for?”

Izaya was pointing his knife at Shizuo, that mischievous smirk on his face. “I don't know what you're planning but I've got better things to do, Shizu-chan.”

So he didn't remember.

The blond looked down at the floor and clenched his fists. Of course he didn't. It would've been way too easy that way.

Izaya narrowed his eyes and took a step back, the knife still raised between them.

“So you don't remember what happened, huh?” Shizuo asked, earning a frown from the other.

“What happened? How would you know?” The raven chuckled, his smirk returning.

“I think I know more than you do.”

Izaya opened his mouth to speak but for once, he didn't know what to say. They just watched each other for what felt like an eternity. Nurses and other patients stopped to see what was going on but no one dared to come near them.

“We should probably get out of here.” Shizuo said eventually and Izaya started protesting but the blond already pushed his arm aside and picked him up.

“Shizu-chan! What do you think you're doing?!” Izaya cried, desperately trying to reach the blond with his knife but his arm was trapped between them. “You stupid protozoan! Let me down right now!”

Shizuo ignored him and turned to face the window at the end of the hall. He lifted a leg to kick it open and before he could stop to think about the height, he just jumped through.

Thankfully, they had only been on the second floor so the landing was rather soft.

“So you finally turned into a Neanderthal.” Izaya hissed, still trying to get out of the other's grip. “Good for you. Go find someone else to ravish.”

Shizuo looked around and as he recognised his surroundings he started heading into the direction of Izaya's apartment.

“I'm getting you home and then we need to talk.” He explained calmly.

Izaya frowned up at him. “We do not need to talk. Just let me down. I can get home by myself.”

Shizuo kept walking and glared down at him. “You saved my ass from a monster and then you passed out in my arms so no, I am not leaving you.”

The raven looked at him like he was crazy. “What are you even talking about?”

“I don't care if you don't remember.” Shizuo sighed. “But I won't fight you any more.”

Izaya remained silent for a while before he started to struggle again. “What?! Why would you say that?”

“I made a promise to not let you hate me again and I plan on keeping it.”

“Oh, who made you promise such a stupid thing?” Izaya laughed, throwing his head back.

“You did.”

That made Izaya stop and glare up at Shizuo again.

“You probably just had a wet dream.” The raven laughed and managed to turn the knife in his hand so it pushed into the other's chest.

Shizuo flinched away in shock and Izaya dropped to the ground, immediately jumping back to bring some distance between them.

“I'd say it was a pleasure, but that would be a lie.” He purred before whirling around and running off.

Shizuo watched him go, his arms slowly dropping to his side.

He didn't know what he had expected. Izaya wouldn't just believe him and forget all those years of hate while in possession of his old memories.

Izaya rounded a corner, disappearing from Shizuo's sight.

The blond looked down at himself. His vest was ruined and there was a hole in his white shirt. The wound underneath was barely bleeding at all, so he shrugged and started checking his pockets.

He found a pack of cigarettes and smiled sadly as he got one out and lit it, inhaling deeply.

So he would have to come up with a new plan

Giving up wasn't an option. Even though the Izaya he had made that promise to didn't exist any more, he wasn't going to break it.

Shizuo started walking again, no special destination in mind.

When he heard the well-known roar of a motorcycle, he turned his head to see Celty stop beside him.

She got off her bike quickly and started tapping away on her PDA.

[Shizuo! I heard you were in the hospital! Are you okay?]

Shizuo read it and chuckled, inhaling some more smoke. “I'm fine. Don't worry.”

[What happened?]

He thought about telling her the truth for a moment. She was a mystical creature after all. Maybe she knew about Wonderland.

“I fell down a rabbit hole.” He told her, waiting for a reaction.

She didn't move for a second before quickly tapping a reply.

[A rabbit hole?]

Shizuo nodded and threw his cigarette to the ground.

“I went to a place called Wonderland.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “Izaya was there as well but he wasn't quite himself.”

[Izaya was there?]

“Yes and we kind of...started not hating each other any more. He doesn't remember though.”

If Celty had a head she would be staring at him, he was sure of it.

[I saw him run off.]

Shizuo got another cigarette out, not lighting it just yet as he looked up at the sky.

“Celty, I need him to like me.”

[And how are you going to do that? I doubt he'll just agree to meet up at Russia Sushi with you.]

He looked at her and shrugged.

“I don't know yet but I'll find a way.”

Silence surrounded them after that. Shizuo lit the death stick and smoked it, eventually dropping the finished butt to the ground.

That was when Celty started typing again.

[Do you want to come over? It seems like you have a lot to talk about.]

Shizuo looked at her and nodded slowly. “Sure, sounds good.”

He got onto the bike behind her and she let a helmet appear on his head before she started it.

So Celty believed him. Maybe Shinra would too and if he did, he might be able to help Shizuo win the flea's heart once again.

No matter how hard it would be, Shizuo had already made a decision and he sure as hell wouldn't give up.

He shut his eyes and imagined Izaya's face the night they had kissed for the first time.

“I swear I'll make you remember, Izaya.” He whispered and a smile crossed his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT! READ THIS IF YOU HATE ME NOW!  
> Thank you :)  
> So obviously, this is a shitty ending.   
> I might let you convince me to write a second part for this so in case you're interested, let me know :P  
> *evil laugh*  
> and I'm out!  
> It was a pleasure to play with your feelings


End file.
